Rep. Lincoln Davis (D) Elected 2002, 2d term
Born:	Sept. 13, 1943, Pall Mall
Home:	Pall Mall
Education:	TN Tech. U., B.S. 1966
Religion:	Baptist
Marital Status:	married (Lynda)
Elected  Office:	Byrdstown Mayor, 1978-82; TN House of Reps, 1980-84; TN Senate, 1996-2002.
Professional Career:	Owner, Diversified Construction Co.
DC Office	410 CHOB20515, 202-225-6831; Fax: 202-226-5172; Web site: www.house.gov/lincolndavis
State Offices	Columbia, 931-490-8699; Jamestown, 931-879-2361; McMinnville, 931-473-7251; Rockwood, 865-354-3323.
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The invisible line between Civil War Republican and Civil War Democratic territory runs along the Cumberland Plateau, the westernmost upswelling of the Appalachians, west of the valley where the Tennessee River runs south from Knoxville to Chattanooga. This is cave country: under its green hills Tennessee has 8,500 caves, more than any other state, with 13 species of bats. This invisible line separates the Tennessee Valley, which had few slaves and whose economic ties were with the North, from the rolling farmlands of middle Tennessee, first settled by Andrew Jackson in the 1790s and resolutely Democratic from the time he became the first president to call himself a Democrat in 1829. Here are places like Sewanee, the pleasant home of the University of the South; Bledsoe County, the pumpkin capital of the world; Columbia, home of President James K. Polk and the site of Maury County's Mule Day celebration every April, where a Saturn plant has accelerated growth; and Lynchburg in dry Moore County, where Jack Daniel's sour-mash whiskey--the nation's number-two spirit in overseas sales, behind Johnny Walker Red Label Scotch--has been distilled for generations and which is every bit the idealized small town that the distillery's folksy, black-and-white advertisements make it out to be. In Campbell County, the construction of the Tennessee Valley Authority's Norris Dam in 1933 forced the resettlement of 3,000 families and left some of the lowest standards of living in the state, but the area has since become a retirement and tourist haven. Near the Alabama line, Decherd is a manufacturing center for Nissan. Cattle are the district's number-one commodity.

The 4th Congressional District of Tennessee runs across this line and crosses the state for some 200 miles. It reaches almost to Virginia in the northeast and almost to Mississippi in the southwest and ranks as the fourth most rural district in the nation.

The congressman from the 4th District is Lincoln Davis, a Democrat first elected in 2002. Davis grew up in Fentress County on his family farm, which was purchased from World War I hero Sergeant Alvin York, a great celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s who was played by Gary Cooper in an Oscar-winning performance in the 1941 movie Sergeant York. Davis started his own construction company, which builds homes and businesses, and develops land. He also has been a soil scientist, and farms cattle and tobacco. He began his political career in 1978 as mayor of Byrdstown near the Kentucky border and was elected to the state House in 1980. In 1984, when Al Gore left the House to run for the Senate, Davis ran for the House but lost the Democratic primary to Bart Gordon 28%-22%. He lost the 4th District House primary 31%-27% in 1994, for the seat won by Republican Van Hilleary. After he returned to office as a state senator, the third time proved a charm.

In 2002 Hilleary ran for governor, and the newly drawn 4th District was open. Davis was the early favorite to win; he won support in the Democratic primary from national and local party leaders, organized labor, anti-abortion groups, and the National Rifle Association. But he had a difficult time against Democratic newcomer Fran Marcum. A wealthy businesswoman with EMILY's List backing, she spent $1.6 million of her own money. Her ads depicted Davis as a political retread, and tied him to the legislature's unpopular handling of budget problems. Davis won, 57%-43%. In the general, Janice Bowling, a Tullahoma alderwoman and self-described "pistol-packing Mama," attempted to seize on Gore's endorsement of Davis in the primary by asking voters to vote against Gore one more time. As part of her folksy message, she campaigned in a white chenille dress, red boots and an American flag scarf, and was a strong backer of George W. Bush's defense policy. She was significantly outspent by Davis, and complained that Republican financial backing came too late. Davis promised not to let any opponent "out-gun me, out-pray me, or out-family me." In the words of The Tennessean, Davis combined a "folksy, slap-on-the-back attitude with the oratorical punch of a revival preacher." He won 52%-46%. Redistricting made the difference. Davis carried the counties added to the district in 2002 by nearly 8,000 votes--almost all of his 10,000-vote margin. Bowling would probably have carried the Republican counties removed by redistricting by more than the remaining 2,000-vote margin.

In the House, Davis fit near the center and toward the conservative end of the Democratic Caucus. He appeared to keep his pledge to stay in close touch with the grass roots and keep his distance from most national Democrats on cultural issues. He joined the Blue Dogs, and criticized "the new philosophy of deficit spending." He was one of 16 House Democrats to vote for the 2003 Medicare/prescription drug bill, citing the need to reduce the high local cost of prescription drugs. He sought funds to clean up abandoned coal mines on the Cumberland Plateau. On Iraq, he largely supported George W. Bush. Davis endorsed Wesley Clark for president and then avoided mention of presidential politics after John Kerry won the Democratic nomination.

In 2004, Bowling again was the Republican nominee but again received little party support. She criticized Davis for opposing tax cuts and said that he had not been tough enough on illegal aliens. Davis emphasized his independence and willingness to listen to constituents. With endorsements from the Chamber of Commerce, National Right to Life and the NRA, he increased his victory margin to 55%-44%. Bowling carried five counties, running best in her home area, the southern part of the district.

Committees

• Agriculture (20th of 21 D): Conservation, Credit, Rural Development & Research.
• Science (10th of 20 D): Energy; Environment, Technology & Standards.
• Transportation & Infrastructure (29th of 34 D): Economic Development, Public Buildings & Emergency Management; Highways, Transit & Pipelines.

Group Ratings (More Info)
	ADA	ACLU	AFS	LCV	ITIC	NTU	COC	ACU	NTLC	CHC
2004	60	22	63	55	89	24	86	56	28	72	--
2003	75	--	88	60	--	27	70	65	--	--	--

National Journal Ratings (More Info)
	2003 LIB	--	2003 CONS		2004 LIB	--	2004 CONS
Economic	56%	--	44%		55%	--	45%
Social	50%	--	49%		46%	--	53%
Foreign	56%	--	44%		53%	--	46%
For National Journal's complete 2004 Vote Ratings, as well as previous ratings dating back to 1995, please click here.

Key Votes Of The 108th Congress (More Info)
1. Drilling in ANWR N 2. Approve Bush Tax Cuts N 3. Medicare/Rx Bill Y 4. Bar Overtime Pay Regs. Y 5. DC School Vouchers N 6. Ban Human Cloning Y		7. Restrict Gun Liability Y  8. Ban Partial-Birth Abortion Y  9. Ban Same-Sex Marriage Y 10. Fund Iraq War Y 11. Bar Cuba Embargo Funds Y 12. Intelligence Reorg. Y

Election Results (More Info)
	Candidate	Total Votes	Percent	Expenditures
2004 general	Lincoln Davis (D)	138,459	55%	$1,145,419
	Janice Bowling (R)	109,993	44%	$322,815
	Other	4,194	2%
2004 primary	Lincoln Davis (D)	36,462	91%
	Harvey Howard (D)	3,435	9%
2002 general	Lincoln Davis (D)	95,989	52%	$1,280,211
	Janice Bowling (R)	85,680	46%	$556,643
	Other	2,631	1%

2004 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 154,457 (58%) Kerry (D) 109,802 (41%)

2000 Presidential Vote Bush (R) 111,639 (50%) Gore (D) 109,559 (49%)

For 1992 and 1996 presidential results in the Fourth District, please see the Almanac 2000 online. Please note that these older returns reflect district lines as they existed prior to 2002 redistricting.

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: R + 3
• District Size: 10,155 square miles
• Population in 2000: 632,143; 32.1% urban; 67.9% rural
• Median Household Income: $31,645; 15.2% are below the poverty line
• Occupation: 40.4% blue collar; 45.1% white collar; 14.4% gray collar; 13.2% military veterans
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 92.6% White, 4.4% Black, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% Amer. Indian, 0.0% Hawaiian, 0.8% Two+ races, 0.0% Other, 1.6% Hispanic origin
• Ancestry: 20.0% USA, 8.1% Irish, 7.2% English
• Click here for statewide demographic data.