United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 congressional elections in Tennessee were held on November 4, 2008 to determine who will represent the state
of Tennessee
in the United States House of Representatives
. Tennessee has nine seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 111th Congress
from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election
.
This district covers northeast Tennessee
, including all of Carter
, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins
, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties and parts of Jefferson County
and Sevier County
. It has been represented by Republican David Davis since 2007.
Johnson City
mayor Roe narrowly defeated Davis in the Republican primary by a margin of 50% to 49% (only 500 votes). Davis was elected in 2006, succeeding retiring congressman Bill Jenkins
, winning the Republican nomination over a crowded field which included Roe. Roe, a retired OB/GYN, was endorsed by several local newspapers, refused PAC
and special interest money, and promised not to serve any more than ten years in Congress. He was a shoo-in for election in a district which has only elected Republicans since 1880.
This district lies in the east central part of the state, based in Knoxville and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has been represented by Republican Jimmy Duncan since November, 1988. He is running against Democrat Bob Scott. No Democrat has held this seat since 1855. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
This district has been represented by Republican Zach Wamp
since 1995. His Democratic opponent was Doug Vandagriff. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
This district lies in Middle
and East Tennessee
and includes all of Bledsoe, Campbell
, Coffee
, Cumberland, Fentress, Franklin
, Giles, Grundy, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln
, Marion
, Maury, Moore, Morgan, Pickett, Scott, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren, and White
Counties, as well as portions of Hickman, Roane, and Williamson
counties. It has been represented by Democrat Lincoln Davis
since 2003. He ran against Republican Monty Lankford. Although the 4th is one of the few districts in the nation that is not considered safe for either party, its size and the fact it includes five television markets makes it fairly easy for incumbents to tenure themselves in. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
This district lies in Middle Tennessee
, including almost all of Davidson County
, half of Wilson County, and half of Cheatham County. Nearly two-thirds of the district's voting population lives in Nashville
. It has been represented by Democrat Jim Cooper
since 2003. He ran against Republican Gerard Donovan. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
This district lies in Middle Tennessee
, including all of Bedford, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Jackson, Macon, Marshall, Overton, Putnam
, Robertson, Rutherford
, Smith, Sumner
, and Trousdale Counties, as well as a portion of Wilson County. It has been represented by Democrat Bart Gordon
since 1985. He ran against independent candidate Chris Baker. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
This district lies in Middle
and southwestern Tennessee, connecting suburbs of Memphis
and Nashville
. It has been represented by Republican Marsha Blackburn
since 2003. She ran against Democrat Randy G. Morris. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
This district covers roughly the northwestern part of the state. It has been represented by Democrat John S. Tanner
since 1989. He ran unopposed by any party candidates and encountered opposition from only a few write-in votes. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
This district lies in southwestern Tennessee
, located entirely within Shelby County
and including most of the city of Memphis
. It has been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen
since 2007, who ran against independent candidates Jake Ford, Dewey Clark, and Taylor Shelby Wright. CQ Politics forecasts the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Cohen defeated attorney Nikki Tinker by a 79% to 19% margin in the Democratic primary. Cohen, who is the only white congressman representing a majority black district, defeated Tinker, who is black, by a much narrower margin in 2006. There was much controversy over accusations made by the Tinker campaign that Cohen was involved with the Ku Klux Klan
, and circulation of anti-Semitic propaganda against Cohen, who is Jewish. No Republican filed in this overwhelmingly Democratic district, although Cohen's primary victory assured him of a second term in any case.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Tennessee has nine seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States Census. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; the elected served in the 111th Congress
111th United States Congress
The One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
from January 4, 2009 until January 3, 2011. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
.
Overview
| United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2008 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Percentage | Seats | +/– | |
| Democratic | 1,195,542 | 51.94% | 5 | — | |
| Republican Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S... |
977,677 | 42.47% | 4 | — | |
| Independents | 128,666 | 5.59% | 0 | — | |
| Totals | 2,301,885 | 100.00% | 9 | — | |
District 1
This district covers northeast Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, including all of Carter
Carter County, Tennessee
Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton.Carter County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined...
, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins
Hawkins County, Tennessee
Hawkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 56,833. Its county seat is Rogersville, Tennessee's second-oldest town....
, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties and parts of Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Tennessee
*...
and Sevier County
Sevier County, Tennessee
Sevier County is a county of the state of Tennessee, United States. Its population was 71,170 at the 2000 United States Census. It is included in the Sevierville, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. The...
. It has been represented by Republican David Davis since 2007.
Johnson City
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
mayor Roe narrowly defeated Davis in the Republican primary by a margin of 50% to 49% (only 500 votes). Davis was elected in 2006, succeeding retiring congressman Bill Jenkins
William L. Jenkins
William Lewis "Bill" Jenkins is a politician from the state of Tennessee. He represented the state's 1st Congressional district, centered around the Tri-Cities , from 1997 until his successor was sworn in on January 3, 2007....
, winning the Republican nomination over a crowded field which included Roe. Roe, a retired OB/GYN, was endorsed by several local newspapers, refused PAC
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
and special interest money, and promised not to serve any more than ten years in Congress. He was a shoo-in for election in a district which has only elected Republicans since 1880.
District 2
This district lies in the east central part of the state, based in Knoxville and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has been represented by Republican Jimmy Duncan since November, 1988. He is running against Democrat Bob Scott. No Democrat has held this seat since 1855. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
District 3
This district has been represented by Republican Zach Wamp
Zach Wamp
Zachary Paul "Zach" Wamp is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1995 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party...
since 1995. His Democratic opponent was Doug Vandagriff. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
District 4
This district lies in Middle
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
and East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
and includes all of Bledsoe, Campbell
Campbell County, Tennessee
Campbell County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 40,716. Its county seat is Jacksboro. The Census Bureau has identified the county as a Micropolitan Statistical Area, designated the LaFollette Micropolitan Statistical Area for the largest...
, Coffee
Coffee County, Tennessee
Coffee County is a county located in south-central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of the counties of Middle Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 52,796. Its county seat is Manchester....
, Cumberland, Fentress, Franklin
Franklin County, Tennessee
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester.Franklin County is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Giles, Grundy, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln
Lincoln County, Tennessee
Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. , the population was 31,340. Its county seat is Fayetteville. It is named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.-History:...
, Marion
Marion County, Tennessee
Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 27,776. Its county seat is Jasper.Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, Maury, Moore, Morgan, Pickett, Scott, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren, and White
White County, Tennessee
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 23,102. Its county seat is Sparta.-History:...
Counties, as well as portions of Hickman, Roane, and Williamson
Williamson County, Tennessee
Williamson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010 US Census, the population was 183,182. The County's seat is Franklin, and it is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is named after Hugh Williamson, a...
counties. It has been represented by Democrat Lincoln Davis
Lincoln Davis
Lincoln Edward Davis is the former U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:...
since 2003. He ran against Republican Monty Lankford. Although the 4th is one of the few districts in the nation that is not considered safe for either party, its size and the fact it includes five television markets makes it fairly easy for incumbents to tenure themselves in. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
District 5
This district lies in Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
, including almost all of Davidson County
Davidson County, Tennessee
Davidson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 626,681. Its county seat is Nashville.In 1963, the City of Nashville and the Davidson County government merged, so the county government is now known as the "Metropolitan Government of Nashville and...
, half of Wilson County, and half of Cheatham County. Nearly two-thirds of the district's voting population lives in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. It has been represented by Democrat Jim Cooper
Jim Cooper
James Hayes Shofner "Jim" Cooper is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the Blue Dog Coalition. He previously represented from 1983 to 1995....
since 2003. He ran against Republican Gerard Donovan. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
District 6
This district lies in Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
, including all of Bedford, Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Jackson, Macon, Marshall, Overton, Putnam
Putnam County, Tennessee
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 62,315, a 21 percent increase from 1990. The was 72,321, an increase of 16.1% since 2000...
, Robertson, Rutherford
Rutherford County, Tennessee
Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, it is the state's fifth-largest county by population with 262,604 people, an increase of 44.3 percent over the 2000 population of 182,023. Its county seat is Murfreesboro, which is also the geographic...
, Smith, Sumner
Sumner County, Tennessee
Sumner County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 130,449. Its county seat is Gallatin, but its largest town is Hendersonville...
, and Trousdale Counties, as well as a portion of Wilson County. It has been represented by Democrat Bart Gordon
Bart Gordon
Barton Jennings "Bart" Gordon, is a lawyer and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. He was Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology from 2007 until 2011. He is a member...
since 1985. He ran against independent candidate Chris Baker. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
District 7
This district lies in Middle
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
and southwestern Tennessee, connecting suburbs of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. It has been represented by Republican Marsha Blackburn
Marsha Blackburn
Marsha Wedgeworth Blackburn is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. She is a member of the Republican Party. The district stretches from the suburbs of Nashville to the suburbs of Memphis.-Early life, education and career:...
since 2003. She ran against Democrat Randy G. Morris. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.
District 8
This district covers roughly the northwestern part of the state. It has been represented by Democrat John S. Tanner
John S. Tanner
John S. Tanner is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life, education and career:Tanner was born in Halls, Tennessee, and grew up in Union City, Tennessee...
since 1989. He ran unopposed by any party candidates and encountered opposition from only a few write-in votes. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
District 9
This district lies in southwestern Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, located entirely within Shelby County
Shelby County, Tennessee
Shelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the state's largest both in terms of population and geographic area, with a population of 927,644 at the 2010 census...
and including most of the city of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. It has been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen
Steve Cohen
Stephen Ira Cohen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Tennessee's 9th district includes almost three-fourths of Memphis. Cohen is Tennessee's first Jewish congressman....
since 2007, who ran against independent candidates Jake Ford, Dewey Clark, and Taylor Shelby Wright. CQ Politics forecasts the race as 'Safe Democrat'.
Cohen defeated attorney Nikki Tinker by a 79% to 19% margin in the Democratic primary. Cohen, who is the only white congressman representing a majority black district, defeated Tinker, who is black, by a much narrower margin in 2006. There was much controversy over accusations made by the Tinker campaign that Cohen was involved with the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, and circulation of anti-Semitic propaganda against Cohen, who is Jewish. No Republican filed in this overwhelmingly Democratic district, although Cohen's primary victory assured him of a second term in any case.
External links
- Division of Elections from the Tennessee Secretary of State
- U.S. Congress candidates for Tennessee at Project Vote SmartProject Vote SmartProject Vote Smart is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States...
- Tennessee U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
- Campaign contributions for Tennessee congressional races from OpenSecrets.orgCenter for Responsive PoliticsThe Center for Responsive Politics is a non-profit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics and the effect of money and lobbying activity on elections and public policy and maintains a public online database of its information.Their database...