Tennessee House
Filing Deadline: April 3, 2008 • Primary Date: Aug. 7, 2008 • General Election: Nov. 4, 2008District Profile: The 1st takes in the far northeastern end of Tennessee, a district so heavily Republican that it has not elected a Democrat to the House for more than 100 years. Full Profile
2006 results: David Davis (R) defeated Rick Trent (D) by 61-37%.
Incumbent
David Davis (R)Elected in 2006; Seeking second term.
Challengers
Phil Roe (R), Johnson City mayor
Mahmood Sabri (R)
Michael Donhie (D)
Rob Russell (D), educator
District Profile: It is heavily Republican and has not elected a Democratic congressman since the Civil War. Full Profile
2006 results: John Duncan (R) defeated John Greene (D) by 78-22%.
Incumbent
John Duncan (R)Elected in 1988; Seeking 11th full term.
Challengers
David Ryan Hancock (D)
Robert Scott (D)
District Profile: Politically, this area was split historically, with Chattanooga Democratic and the mountain counties Republican; today, however, it is solidly GOP. Full Profile
2006 results: Zach Wamp (R) defeated Brent Benedict (D) by 66-34%.
Incumbent
Zach Wamp (R)Elected in 1994; Seeking eighth term.
Challengers
Teresa Lynn Sheppard (R)
Doug Vandagriff (D)
District Profile: The 4th reaches almost to Virginia in the northeast and almost to Mississippi in the southwest. It ranks as the fourth most rural district in the nation. Full Profile
2006 results: Lincoln Davis (D) defeated Kenneth Martin (R) by 66-34%.
Incumbent
Lincoln Davis (D)Elected in 2002; Seeking fourth term.
Challengers
Bert Mason (D)
Kent Greenough (R)
Charles Jackson (R)
Monty Lankford (R)
Don Strong (R)
District Profile: The district is reliably Democratic in statewide elections. It elects rather liberal Democrats to Congress -- after all, the 5th was home to the first Democratic president. Full Profile
2006 results: Jim Cooper (D) defeated Thomas Kovach (R) by 69-28%.
Incumbent
Jim Cooper (D)Elected in 2002; Seeking 10th term.
Challengers
John "Gerard" Donovan (R) (R), business consultant
Vijay Kumar (R)
District Profile: Many new voters here are Republicans, but Democrats who controlled redistricting in 2002 were determined to stop the advance by removing rapidly growing GOP suburbs. Full Profile
2006 results: Bart Gordon (D) defeated David R. Davis (R) by 67-31%.
Challengers
None
District Profile: Redistricting added Republican Williamson County, making the 7th nearly as solidly Republican as the 1st District in faraway East Tennessee. Full Profile
2006 results: Marsha Blackburn (R) defeated Bill Morrison (D) by 66-32%.
Incumbent
Marsha Blackburn (R)Elected in 2002; Seeking fourth term.
Challengers
Tom Leatherwood (R)
Randy Morris (D)
James Tomasik (D)
District Profile: Rural Carroll County is something of a bellwether in Tennessee politics, voting 56 percent for George W. Bush in 2004. Full Profile
2006 results: John Tanner (D) defeated John Farmer (R) by 73-27%.
Challengers
James Hart (R)
District Profile: Redistricting in 2002 reduced the black percentage from 66 percent to 60 percent, but the 9th remains the strongest Democratic district in the state. Full Profile
2006 results: Steve Cohen (D) defeated Jake Ford (I) and Mark White (R) by 60% to 22% and 18%, respectively.
Incumbent
Steve Cohen (D)Elected in 2006; Seeking second term.
Challengers
James Gregory (D)
Isaac Ridhmond (D)
Nikki Tinker (D), attorney
Joe Towns, Jr. (D)
M. Latroy Williams (D)
Race Rankings
Based on likelihood of seat switching party control
1.
Ill.-11
(Open-R)2.
Va.-11
(Open-R)3.
N.Y.-25
(Open-R)4.
Ariz.-01
(Open-R)5.
Texas-22
(Lampson-D)6.
N.J.-03
(Open-R)7.
N.J.-07
(Open-R)8.
N.M.-01
(Open-R)9.
Ohio-16
(Open-R)10.
Ohio-15
(Open-R)Previous Coverage
Check out National Journal's coverage of previous Tennessee house races.
