Tennessee's 8th congressional district

"TN-8" redirects here. TN-8 may also refer to Tennessee State Route 8.

Tennessee's 8th congressional district
Current Representative		Stephen Fincher (R–Crockett County)
Population (2000)	632,143
Median income	$33,001
Ethnicity	75.2% White, 22.4% Black, 0.5% Asian, 1.6% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% other
Cook PVI	R+15

The 8th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Tennessee. It currently includes roughly the western part of the state excluding Memphis, and borders Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky.

The district's configuration from 1983 to 2013 occurred when Tennessee gained a 9th district as a result of the 1980 census. At that time, most of the old 7th District was reconfigured as the 8th District. Much of the territory in this district had been numbered as the 8th District from 1953 through 1973.

Historically, the 8th was a strongly Democratic district. Along with the 5th and 9th districts, it was usually not seriously contested by Republicans for most of the 20th century.

However, the Democrats in this district are nowhere near as liberal as their counterparts in the 5th and 9th districts—based in Nashville and Memphis, respectively. As with the 4th and 6th in Middle Tennessee, most self-identified Democrats in the 8th are usually conservative on social issues, and expect their legislators to focus attention upon obtaining federal funds for local public works or economic development projects, rather than to develop any talents for formulating public policy. This was especially important during the days when seniority played a greater role in determining Congressional influence than presently. Like their neighbors in nearby Mississippi and Kentucky, voters in West Tennessee have been gradually abandoning the Democrats in favor of Republicans over the past 20 years, largely under the influence of religious conservatism (part of the so-called "Bible Belt").

The 8th District is composed almost entirely of small towns and farming communities. Jackson is the largest city located entirely in the district, though the district also includes part of Clarksville and the fringes of Memphis suburbs.

The other major constituencies in the district other than small-to-medium-scale farmers and working-class whites (mostly employees of small industries or trades) are Memphis suburbanites in Tipton and eastern Shelby counties (the U.S. Navy operates a base in Millington) and affluent residents of Jackson who regularly vote Republican and African-American Democrats (generally more progressive ideologically than the region's white officeholders) who reside in the counties along the Mississippi River, those parts of Tennessee where slavery was most prevalent prior to the Civil War. For many years, these two groups largely canceled each other out in the voting booth, leaving the balance of power in the hands of voters in the counties closer to Kentucky and along the Tennessee River. However, after the 2010 census, most of heavily Republican eastern Shelby County was added to the district, giving it a character very similar to the neighboring 7th district.

Republican Stephen Fincher, the first Republican to represent this district in over a century, has held the seat since 2011.

The district from 2003 to 2013

List of representatives

Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party	District Residence	Notes
District created March 4, 1823
James B. Reynolds	March 4, 1823	March 4, 1825	Jacksonian D-R
John H. Marable	March 4, 1825	March 4, 1829	Jacksonian
Cave Johnson	March 4, 1829	March 4, 1833	Jacksonian		Redistricted to the 11th district
David W. Dickinson	March 4, 1833	March 4, 1835	Jacksonian
Abram P. Maury	March 4, 1835	March 4, 1837	Anti-Jacksonian
	March 4, 1837	March 4, 1839	Whig
Meredith P. Gentry	March 4, 1839	March 4, 1843	Whig
Joseph H. Peyton	March 4, 1843	November 11, 1845	Whig		Died
Edwin H. Ewing	????, 1845	March 4, 1847	Whig
Washington Barrow	March 4, 1847	March 4, 1849	Whig
Andrew Ewing	March 4, 1849	March 4, 1851	Democratic
William Cullom	March 4, 1851	March 4, 1853	Whig		Redistricted to the 4th district
Felix Zollicoffer	March 4, 1853	March 4, 1855	Whig
	March 4, 1855	March 4, 1859	Know Nothing
James M. Quarles	March 4, 1859	March 4, 1861	Opposition
American Civil War
John W. Leftwich	July 24, 1866	March 4, 1867	Unconditional Unionist
David A. Nunn	March 4, 1867	March 4, 1869	Republican
William J. Smith	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1871	Republican
William W. Vaughan	March 4, 1871	March 4, 1873	Democratic
David A. Nunn	March 4, 1873	March 4, 1875	Republican
John D. C. Atkins	March 4, 1875	March 4, 1883	Democratic		Redistricted from the 7th district
John M. Taylor	March 4, 1883	March 4, 1887	Democratic
Benjamin A. Enloe	March 4, 1887	March 4, 1895	Democratic
John E. McCall	March 4, 1895	March 4, 1897	Republican
Thetus W. Sims	March 4, 1897	March 4, 1921	Democratic
Lon A. Scott	March 4, 1921	March 4, 1923	Republican
Gordon Browning	March 4, 1923	March 4, 1933	Democratic		Redistricted to the 7th district
Jere Cooper	March 4, 1933	January 3, 1943	Democratic		Redistricted from the 9th district, Redistricted to the 9th district
Tom J. Murray	January 3, 1943	January 3, 1953	Democratic		Redistricted to the 7th district
Jere Cooper	January 3, 1953	December 18, 1957	Democratic		Redistricted from the 9th district, Died
Fats Everett	February 1, 1958	January 26, 1969	Democratic		Died
Ed Jones	March 25, 1969	January 3, 1973	Democratic		Redistricted to the 7th district
Dan Kuykendall	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1975	Republican		Redistricted from the 9th district
Harold Ford, Sr.	January 3, 1975	January 3, 1983	Democratic		Redistricted to the 9th district
Ed Jones	January 3, 1983	January 3, 1989	Democratic		Redistricted from the 7th district
John S. Tanner	January 3, 1989	January 3, 2011	Democratic
Stephen Fincher	January 3, 2011	Present	Republican	Frog Jump	Incumbent

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present