2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee
All 9 Tennessee seats to the United States House of Representatives
Turnout	66.34% 16.37 pp
Democratic 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90%	Republican 60–70% 70–80%

The 2008 congressional elections in Tennessee was held on November 4, 2008, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts.

Following the 2008 elections, no seats changed hands, leaving the Tennessee delegation at a 5-4 Democratic majority.

As of 2024, this was the last time Democrats won a majority of congressional districts from Tennessee's House delegation, as well as the House popular vote.

Overview

United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2008^[2]
Party		Votes	Percentage	Seats	+/–
	Democratic	1,195,542	51.94%	5	—
	Republican	977,677	42.47%	4	—
	Independents	128,601	5.59%	0	—
Totals		2,301,885	100.00%	9	—

(There was 65 Write-in votes that were added to the statewide total number of votes).

Popular vote

Democratic			51.94%
Republican			42.47%
Other			5.59%

House seats

Democratic			55.56%
Republican			44.44%

By district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Results	Candidates
Tennessee 1	David Davis	Republican	2006	Incumbent lost renomination. New member elected. Republican hold.	▌Y Phil Roe (Republican) 71.8% ▌Rob Russell (Democratic) 24.5% ▌Joel Goodman (Independent) 1.7% ▌James Reeves (Independent) 1.1% ▌Thomas Owens (Independent) 0.8%
Tennessee 2	Jimmy Duncan	Republican	1998	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jimmy Duncan (Republican) 78.1% ▌Bob Scott (Democratic) 21.9%
Tennessee 3	Zach Wamp	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Zach Wamp (Republican) 69.4% ▌Doug Vandagriff (Democratic) 27.4% ▌Jean Howard-Hill (Independent) 1.8% ▌Ed Choate (Independent) 1.4%
Tennessee 4	Lincoln Davis	Democratic	2002	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Lincoln Davis (Democratic) 58.8% ▌Monty Lankford (Republican) 37.8% ▌James Anthony Gray (Independent) 1.9% ▌Kevin Ragsdale (Independent) 1.5%
Tennessee 5	Jim Cooper	Democratic	1982 1994 (retired) 2002	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Jim Cooper (Democratic) 65.9% ▌Gerard Donovan (Republican) 31.0% ▌Jon Jackson (Independent) 2.0% ▌John Miglietta (Green) 1.2%
Tennessee 6	Bart Gordon	Democratic	1984	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Bart Gordon (Democratic) 74.4% ▌Chris Baker (Independent) 25.6%
Tennessee 7	Marsha Blackburn	Republican	2002	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Marsha Blackburn (Republican) 68.6% ▌Randy Morris (Democratic) 31.4%
Tennessee 8	John Tanner	Democratic	1988	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y John Tanner (Democratic) Uncontested
Tennessee 9	Steve Cohen	Democratic	2006	Incumbent re-elected.	▌Y Steve Cohen (Democratic) 87.9% ▌Jake Ford (Independent) 4.9% ▌Dewey Clark (Independent) 4.4% ▌Mary Wright (Independent) 2.8%

District 1

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).^[3] 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 that has only elected Republicans since 1880.

Tennessee's 1st congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Roe	168,343	71.82
	Democratic	Rob Russell	57,525	24.54
	Independent	Joel Goodman	3,988	1.70
	Independent	James W. Reeves	2,544	1.09
	Independent	T. K. Owens	1,981	0.85
Total votes			234,381	100.00
	Republican hold

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 ran against Democrat Bob Scott. No Democrat has held this seat since 1855. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Republican'.

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jimmy Duncan (inc.)	227,120	78.11
	Democratic	Bob Scott	63,639	21.89
Total votes			290,759	100.00
	Republican hold

District 3

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'.

Tennessee's 3rd congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Zach Wamp (inc.)	184,964	69.37
	Democratic	Doug Vandagriff	73,059	27.40
	Independent	Jean Howard-Hill	4,848	1.82
	Independent	Ed Choate	3,750	1.41
	Write-ins		7	0.00
Total votes			266,628	100.00
	Republican hold

District 4

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 make it fairly easy for incumbents to tenure themselves in. CQ Politics forecasted the race as 'Safe Democrat'.

Tennessee's 4th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Lincoln Davis (inc.)	146,776	58.76
	Republican	Monty J. Lankford	94,447	37.81
	Independent	James Anthony Gray	4,869	1.95
	Independent	Kevin Ragsdale	3,713	1.49
Total votes			249,805	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 5

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'.

Tennessee's 5th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Cooper (inc.)	181,467	65.84
	Republican	Gerard Donovan	85,471	31.01
	Independent	Jon Jackson	5,464	1.98
	Independent	John P. Miglietta	3,196	1.16
	Write-ins		4	0.00
Total votes			275,602	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 6

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'.

Tennessee's 6th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Bart Gordon (inc.)	194,264	74.42
	Independent	Chris Baker	66,764	25.58
Total votes			261,028	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 7

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'.

Tennessee's 7th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marsha Blackburn (inc.)	217,332	68.58
	Democratic	Randy G. Morris	99,549	31.42
Total votes			316,881	100.00
	Republican hold

District 8

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'.

Tennessee's 8th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John S. Tanner (inc.)	180,465	99.97
	Write-ins		54	0.03
Total votes			180,519	100.00
	Democratic hold

District 9

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.^[4] No Republican filed in this overwhelmingly Democratic district, although Cohen's primary victory assured him of a second term in any case.

Tennessee's 9th congressional district election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Cohen (inc.)	198,798	87.85
	Independent	Jake Ford	11,003	4.86
	Independent	Dewey Clark	10,047	4.44
	Independent	Taylor Shelby Wright	6,434	2.84
Total votes			226,282	100.00
	Democratic hold

References

^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2008". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 4, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
^ Roe Defeats Davis In 1st District TriCities.com, August 8, 2008
^ Tenn. Democrat beats lawyer who linked him to KKK Archived August 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

External links

Division of Elections from the Tennessee Secretary of State
U.S. Congress candidates for Tennessee at Project Vote Smart
Tennessee U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
Campaign contributions for Tennessee congressional races from OpenSecrets

Preceded by 2006 elections	United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee 2008	Succeeded by 2010 elections

[1] "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2008". Tennessee Secretary of State. November 4, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2023.

[2] "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".

[3] Roe Defeats Davis In 1st District TriCities.com, August 8, 2008

[4] Tenn. Democrat beats lawyer who linked him to KKK Archived August 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine

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