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Tennessee's 4th congressional district

Coordinates: 35°15′44″N 86°37′44″W / 35.26222°N 86.62889°W / 35.26222; -86.62889
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tennessee's 4th congressional district
Map
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative
Distribution
  • 43.84% rural
Population (2023)808,625[1]
Median household
income
$66,901[1]
Ethnicity
Cook PVIR+22[2]

The 4th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in southern Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Scott DesJarlais since January 2011.

Most of the district is rural, but many residents live in the suburbs of Chattanooga and Nashville. The area is very hilly, and has many well-known geographical features related to its location on the Cumberland Plateau.

This part of Tennessee has several well-recognized distilleries such as Duck River, George Dickel, Southern Pride, and most famously the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg.[3]

The region encompasses many of Tennessee's higher education facilities, such as Middle Tennessee State University, Sewanee: The University of the South, and Bryan College.

Current boundaries

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The district lies mostly in the southern part of Middle Tennessee, but stretches into East Tennessee. It is currently composed of the following counties: Bedford, Bledsoe, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marion, Meigs, Moore, Rhea, Rutherford, Sequatchie, and the vast majority of Warren.

Recent election results in statewide races

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Results under old lines (2013–2023)

Year Office Result
2000 President George W. Bush (R) 50% – Al Gore 49% (D)
2004 President George W. Bush (R) 58% – John Kerry 41% (D)
2008 President John McCain (R) 62.6% – Barack Obama 35.8% (D)
2012 President Mitt Romney (R) 65.3% – Barack Obama 33% (D)
2016 President Donald Trump (R) 68.6% – Hillary Clinton 27.4% (D)
2020 President Donald Trump (R) 67.5% - Joe Biden 30.7% (D)

History

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Throughout the 20th century, the 4th district took many different forms, but in most cases encompassed most of the rural area between Nashville and Knoxville. It has often been the state's largest district in terms of area, and one of the largest east of the Mississippi River, because of low population density and the district's rural character.

For almost thirty years (1947–1977), this area of Tennessee was represented in Congress by Joe L. Evins. (Early in his political career, his district was numbered as the "5th", but that district was almost entirely in what became the 4th after the round of redistricting following the 1950 census.)[4] Evins' successor in Congress was future vice president Al Gore Jr., who represented the 4th from 1977 to 1983. The district's current configuration dates from the 1980 census, when Tennessee gained a new congressional seat. Parts of what were previously in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 6th districts were combined to form a new 4th district. Most of Gore's territory became the 6th district.

The new district incorporated pieces of heavily Republican East Tennessee and traditionally Democratic Middle Tennessee. It was so large that it stretched across five of Tennessee's eight television markets (Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities, as well as the Tennessee share of the Huntsville, Alabama, market).[5] and five of the state's nine radio markets (the above-mentioned cities, plus Cookeville). This gave congressional races much of the feel of statewide races; candidates' advertising budgets sometimes rivaled those for governor and U.S. Senate. Open-seat races in this district were usually among the most-watched in the country. However, the district's large size and lack of unifying influences make it very difficult to unseat an incumbent. Consequently, the district's congressman was usually reckoned as a statewide figure, with a good chance for winning state office in the future.

In 1982, Democrat Jim Cooper, son of former governor Prentice Cooper, defeated Cissy Baker, daughter of Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker. Cooper went on to represent the district until 1995.[6] On paper, this district was not safe for either party, given its volatile demographics. Much of the eastern portion, for instance, had not been represented by a Democrat since before the Civil War. However, Cooper was reelected five times without serious difficulty.

Cooper gave up his seat to run for the U.S. Senate in 1994, but lost to Fred Thompson. Republican Van Hilleary won the seat as part of the massive Republican wave of that year. Hilleary was reelected three times without much difficulty, handily winning a second term even as Bill Clinton carried the district due to Gore's presence as his running mate; Gore represented much of the western portion of the district for his first three terms in the House.

In 2002, Hilleary retired to mount an ultimately unsuccessful bid to become Governor of Tennessee, and was replaced by Democratic state senator Lincoln Davis. Davis held the seat for eight years. In 2010, Davis was challenged by Republican doctor Scott DesJarlais from South Pittsburg, who rode to victory on the Tea Party wave of 2010 despite Davis raising more money.[7] This marked the first time that an incumbent had been defeated in the district since the reformation of the district in 1982. Indeed, DesJarlais became the first challenger to defeat an incumbent Tennessee congressman in a general election since 1974. Following the 2010 census, the 4th was made slightly more compact. The district lost its northern portion, including its territory near the Tri-Cities and Knoxville. On the other hand, it gained all of Rutherford County, home of Murfreesboro, and northern Bradley County.

List of members representing the district

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Name Party Years Cong
ress
Electoral history District location
District established March 4, 1813
John H. Bowen
(Gallatin)
Democratic-Republican March 4, 1813 –
March 3, 1815
13th Elected in 1813.
Retired.
1813–1823
[data missing]
Bennett H. Henderson
(Hendersonville)
Democratic-Republican March 4, 1815 –
March 3, 1817
14th Elected in 1815.
Retired.
Samuel E. Hogg
(Lebanon)
Democratic-Republican March 4, 1817 –
March 3, 1819
15th Elected in 1817.
Retired.
Robert Allen
(Carthage)
Democratic-Republican March 4, 1819 –
March 3, 1823
16th
17th
Elected in 1819.
Re-elected in 1821.
Redistricted to the 5th district.
Jacob C. Isacks
(Winchester)
Democratic-Republican (Jackson) March 4, 1823 –
March 3, 1825
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
Elected in 1823.
Re-elected in 1825.
Re-elected in 1827.
Re-elected in 1829.
Re-elected in 1831.
Redistricted to the 5th district and lost re-election.
1823–1833
[data missing]
Jacksonian March 4, 1825 –
March 3, 1833

James I. Standifer
(Mount Airy)
Jacksonian March 4, 1833 –
March 3, 1835
23rd
24th
25th
Redistricted from the 3rd district and re-elected in 1833.
Re-elected in 1835.
Re-elected in 1837.
Died.
1833–1843
[data missing]
Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1835 –
March 3, 1837
Whig March 4, 1837 –
August 20, 1837
Vacant August 20, 1837 –
September 14, 1837
25th
William Stone
(Delphi)
Whig September 14, 1837 –
March 3, 1839
Elected September 14, 1837, to finish Standifer's term and seated October 6, 1837.
Lost re-election.
Julius W. Blackwell
(Athens)
Democratic March 4, 1839 –
March 3, 1841
26th Elected in 1839.
Lost re-election.
Thomas J. Campbell
(Athens)
Whig March 4, 1841 –
March 3, 1843
27th Elected in 1841.
Redistricted to the 3rd district and lost re-election.
Alvan Cullom
(Livingston)
Democratic March 4, 1843 –
March 3, 1847
28th
29th
Elected in 1843.
Re-elected in 1845.
Retired.
1843–1853
[data missing]
Hugh Hill
(Irving College)
Democratic March 4, 1847 –
March 3, 1849
30th Elected in 1847.
Retired.

John H. Savage
(Smithville)
Democratic March 4, 1849 –
March 3, 1853
31st
32nd
Elected in 1849.
Re-elected in 1851.
Retired.
William Cullom
(Carthage)
Whig March 4, 1853 –
March 3, 1855
33rd Redistricted from the 8th district and re-elected in 1853.
Lost re-election.
1853–1863
[data missing]

John H. Savage
(Smithville)
Democratic March 4, 1855 –
March 3, 1859
34th
35th
Elected in 1855.
Re-elected in 1857.
Lost re-election.

William B. Stokes
(Alexandria)
Opposition March 4, 1859 –
March 3, 1861
36th Elected in 1859.
Redistricted to the 3rd district.

Andrew J. Clements
(Lafayette)
Union March 4, 1861 –
March 3, 1863
37th Elected in 1861.
Could not seek re-election, as state was under Confederate occupation.
District inactive March 3, 1863 –
July 24, 1866
38th
39th
Civil War and Reconstruction
Edmund Cooper
(Shelbyville)
Union July 24, 1866 –
March 3, 1867
39th Elected in 1865.
Lost re-election.
1866–1873
[data missing]

James Mullins
(Shelbyville)
Republican March 4, 1867 –
March 3, 1869
40th Elected in 1867.
Retired.

Lewis Tillman
(Shelbyville)
Republican March 4, 1869 –
March 3, 1871
41st Elected in 1868.
Retired.

John M. Bright
(Fayetteville)
Democratic March 4, 1871 –
March 3, 1875
42nd
43rd
Elected in 1870.
Re-elected in 1872.
Redistricted to the 5th district.
1873–1883
[data missing]
Samuel M. Fite
(Carthage)
Democratic March 4, 1875 –
October 23, 1875
44th Elected to begin representative-elect John W. Head's term.
Died.
Vacant October 23, 1875 –
December 14, 1875

Haywood Y. Riddle
(Lebanon)
Democratic December 14, 1875 –
March 3, 1879
44th
45th
Elected to finish Fite's term.
Re-elected in 1876.
Retired.

Benton McMillin
(Carthage)
Democratic March 4, 1879 –
January 6, 1899
46th
47th
48th
49th
50th
51st
52nd
53rd
54th
55th
Elected in 1878.
Re-elected in 1880.
Re-elected in 1882.
Re-elected in 1884.
Re-elected in 1886.
Re-elected in 1888.
Re-elected in 1890.
Re-elected in 1892.
Re-elected in 1894.
Re-elected in 1896.
Retired to run for Governor of Tennessee and resigned when elected.
1883–1893
[data missing]
1893–1903
[data missing]
Vacant January 6, 1899 –
March 3, 1899
55th

Charles E. Snodgrass
(Crossville)
Democratic March 4, 1899 –
March 3, 1903
56th
57th
Elected in 1898.
Re-elected in 1900.
Lost renomination.

Morgan C. Fitzpatrick
(Hartsville)
Democratic March 4, 1903 –
March 3, 1905
58th Elected in 1902.
Retired.
1903–1913
[data missing]

Mounce G. Butler
(Gainesboro)
Democratic March 4, 1905 –
March 3, 1907
59th Elected in 1904.
Lost renomination.

Cordell Hull
(Carthage)
Democratic March 4, 1907 –
March 3, 1921
60th
61st
62nd
63rd
64th
65th
66th
Elected in 1906.
Re-elected in 1908.
Re-elected in 1910.
Re-elected in 1912.
Re-elected in 1914.
Re-elected in 1916.
Re-elected in 1918.
Lost re-election.
1913–1933
[data missing]

Wynne F. Clouse
(Cookeville)
Republican March 4, 1921 –
March 3, 1923
67th Elected in 1920.
Lost re-election.

Cordell Hull
(Carthage)
Democratic March 4, 1923 –
March 3, 1931
68th
69th
70th
71st
Elected in 1922.
Re-elected in 1924.
Re-elected in 1926.
Re-elected in 1928.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.
John R. Mitchell
(Cookeville)
Democratic March 4, 1931 –
January 3, 1939
72nd
73rd
74th
75th
Elected in 1930.
Re-elected in 1932.
Re-elected in 1934.
Re-elected in 1936.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.
1933–1943
[data missing]

Albert Gore Sr.
(Carthage)
Democratic January 3, 1939 –
December 4, 1944
76th
77th
78th
Elected in 1938.
Re-elected in 1940.
Re-elected in 1942.
Re-elected in 1944 but resigned until next term began to enter U.S. Army for fact-finding training.
1943–1953
[data missing]
Vacant December 4, 1944 –
January 3, 1945
78th

Albert Gore Sr.
(Carthage)
Democratic January 3, 1945 –
January 3, 1953
79th
80th
81st
82nd
Re-elected in 1946.
Re-elected in 1948.
Re-elected in 1950.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.

Joe L. Evins
(Smithville)
Democratic January 3, 1953 –
January 3, 1977
83rd
84th
85th
86th
87th
88th
89th
90th
91st
92nd
93rd
94th
Redistricted from the 5th district and re-elected in 1952.
Re-elected in 1954.
Re-elected in 1956.
Re-elected in 1958.
Re-elected in 1960.
Re-elected in 1962.
Re-elected in 1964.
Re-elected in 1966.
Re-elected in 1968.
Re-elected in 1970.
Re-elected in 1972.
Re-elected in 1974.
Retired.
1953–1963
[data missing]
1963–1973
[data missing]
1973–1983
[data missing]

Al Gore
(Carthage)
Democratic January 3, 1977 –
January 3, 1983
95th
96th
97th
Elected in 1976.
Re-elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Redistricted to the 6th district.

Jim Cooper
(Shelbyville)
Democratic January 3, 1983 –
January 3, 1995
98th
99th
100th
101st
102nd
103rd
Elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1992.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.
1983–1993
[data missing]
1993–2003
[data missing]

Van Hilleary
(Spring City)
Republican January 3, 1995 –
January 3, 2003
104th
105th
106th
107th
Elected in 1994.
Re-elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Retired to run for Governor of Tennessee.

Lincoln Davis
(Pall Mall)
Democratic January 3, 2003 –
January 3, 2011
108th
109th
110th
111th
Elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Lost re-election.
2003–2013

Scott DesJarlais
(Sherwood)
Republican January 3, 2011 –
present
112th
113th
114th
115th
116th
117th
118th
Elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Re-elected in 2022
2013–2023
2023–present

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "My Congressional District".
  2. ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  3. ^ "Map & Guide - TN Whiskey Trail". Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  4. ^ "U.S. Congressional District Shapefiles".
  5. ^ "TVB | Nielsen 2015-2016 DMA Ranks". Archived from the original on May 11, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  6. ^ "The House: Political Genes and Reaganomics". Time. October 4, 1982.
  7. ^ "Tennessee 4th District Race Profile - Election 2010 - the New York Times".

Sources

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Congress.com: Tennessee Congressional districts

35°15′44″N 86°37′44″W / 35.26222°N 86.62889°W / 35.26222; -86.62889