Tennessee's 4th congressional district

Tennessee's 4th congressional district
Current Representative		Scott DesJarlais (R–South Pittsburg)
Population (2000)	632,143
Median income	$31,645
Ethnicity	93.3% White, 4.4% Black, 0.3% Asian, 1.6% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% other
Cook PVI	R+13

The 4th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle and East Tennessee. It is 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 rural character. It currently 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.

The district's current configuration dates from 1983, when Tennessee gained a district in the 1980 Census. At that time, portions of the old 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th districts were combined to form a new 4th District.

As currently drawn, the 4th stretches across portions of traditionally heavily Republican East Tennessee and traditionally Democratic Middle Tennessee. The district's eastern counties are strongly Republican, except for pockets in the northeast where union membership among coal miners keeps Democrats competitive. In fact, prior to the 4th's creation, much of the district's eastern portion had not been represented by a Democrat since the Civil War. The district's western counties, however, are historically Democratic, in keeping with the preferences associated with Middle Tennessee's history.

The 4th stretches across two time zones, five of the state's eight television markets (the Tri-Cities, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and Huntsville, Alabama) and five of the state's nine radio markets (the above-mentioned cities, plus Cookeville). This gives congressional races much of the feel of statewide races; candidates' advertising budgets sometimes rival those for governor and U.S. Senate (although candidates usually conduct a significant part of their advertising in far less expensive media such as small-town newspapers, local radio and cable television). Open-seat races in this district are 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 is usually reckoned as a statewide figure, with a good chance for winning state office in the future. The New Deal heritage of the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the subsequent priority of ensuring continued funding for it and other public works projects, generally inclines voters toward keeping incumbents in office as well.

The communities in the 4th are largely dependent upon light industry economically, although significant farming interests are still visible to this day; however, most of the coal mines have long since been abandoned, with those areas now suffering from the state's highest poverty and unemployment rates. The district's population is largely aging (although its families generally have more children than the national average), with relatively few new residents moving to the area; thus its geographic size may well continue to enlarge even further over the next several decades, or at least fluctuate.

The absence of social change brought on by large-scale suburbanization in most of the territory (except for Williamson County and portions of Maury County) has left the district's political elites—Democrats in the western portion, Republicans in the eastern portion—generally unchallenged. However, even moderately liberal politics are a hard sell even in the district's strongly Democratic areas. Most of the 4th's residents are strongly conservative on social issues, and very religious (predominantly members of Baptist and Pentecostal churches and Churches of Christ); Republican presidential candidates have carried the district in all but two elections since the district was created. The two exceptions were 1992 and 1996, in which the district warmly supported Bill Clinton. This was largely due to the presence of Al Gore (who represented a large portion of the district's western section from 1977 to 1983) as the Democratic candidate for vice president. Gore just barely missed carrying the district in 2000, which may have cost him his home state—and the election.

Factors such as patriotism (the district, like rural areas generally, sends a higher percentage of its youth into the military than the U.S. at large), gun control initiatives, issues of religion in public life, and tobacco policies (long a vital cash crop in many counties) have done much to shift voter allegiances away from time-honored patterns set in the days following the Civil War in the historically Democratic counties. Much like neighbors in nearby Alabama or Kentucky, the death of older residents with memories of the Great Depression and the Solid South has left in its stead a decidedly more conservative constituency in the 4th, perhaps most notably on economic issues (tax cuts occupy more attention than farm subsidies, for example).

Republican Scott DesJarlais has represented the district since 2011 after defeating four-term Democrat Lincoln Davis. His victory marked the first time an incumbent had been unseated in the district's current incarnation.

Recent elections

November 2, 2010, Representative of Tennessee's 4th congressional district election results

Candidates		Party	Votes	%
	Lincoln Davis	Democratic Party	70,329	38.6%
	Scott DesJarlais	Republican Party	104,025	57.1%
Source: 2010 Election Results

List of representatives

Name	Took Office	Left Office	Party	District Residence	Notes
District created March 4, 1813
John H. Bowen	March 4, 1813	March 4, 1815	Democratic-Republican
Bennett H. Henderson	March 4, 1815	March 4, 1817	Democratic-Republican
Samuel E. Hogg	March 4, 1817	March 4, 1819	Democratic-Republican
Robert Allen	March 4, 1819	March 4, 1823	Democratic-Republican		Redistricted to the 5th district
Jacob C. Isacks	March 4, 1823	March 4, 1825	Jacksonian D-R	Winchester
	March 4, 1825	March 4, 1833	Jacksonian
James I. Standifer	March 4, 1833	March 4, 1835	Jacksonian	Kingston	Redistricted from the 3rd district
	March 4, 1835	March 4, 1837	Anti-Jacksonian
	March 4, 1837	August 20, 1837	Whig		Died
Vacant		August 20, 1837 - September 14, 1837
William Stone	September 14, 1837	March 4, 1839	Whig	Sequatchie County
Julius W. Blackwell	March 4, 1839	March 4, 1841	Democratic	Athens
Thomas J. Campbell	March 4, 1841	March 4, 1843	Whig	Rhea County
Alvan Cullom	March 4, 1843	March 4, 1847	Democratic	Livingston
Hugh Hill	March 4, 1847	March 4, 1849	Democratic	McMinnville
John H. Savage	March 4, 1849	March 4, 1853	Democratic	Smithville
William Cullom	March 4, 1853	March 4, 1855	Whig	Carthage	Redistricted from the 8th district
John H. Savage	March 4, 1855	March 4, 1859	Democratic	Smithville
William B. Stokes	March 4, 1859	March 4, 1861	Opposition	Alexandria
Andrew J. Clements	March 4, 1861	March 4, 1863	Unionist	Lafayette
American Civil War
Edmund Cooper	July 24, 1866	March 4, 1867	Unionist	Shelbyville
James Mullins	March 4, 1867	March 4, 1869	Republican	Shelbyville
Lewis Tillman	March 4, 1869	March 4, 1871	Republican	Shelbyville
John M. Bright	March 4, 1871	March 4, 1875	Democratic	Fayetteville	Redistricted to the 5th district
Samuel M. Fite	March 4, 1875	October 23, 1875	Democratic	Carthage	Died
Vacant		October 23, 1875 - December 14, 1875
Haywood Y. Riddle	December 14, 1875	March 4, 1879	Democratic	Lebanon
Benton McMillin	March 4, 1879	January 6, 1899	Democratic	Celina	Resigned after being elected Governor
Vacant		January 6, 1899 - March 4, 1899
Charles E. Snodgrass	March 4, 1899	March 4, 1903	Democratic	Crossville
Morgan C. Fitzpatrick	March 4, 1903	March 4, 1905	Democratic	Hartsville
Mounce G. Butler	March 4, 1905	March 4, 1907	Democratic	Gainesboro
Cordell Hull	March 4, 1907	March 4, 1921	Democratic	Celina	US Secretary of State 1933-1944
Wynne F. Clouse	March 4, 1921	March 4, 1923	Republican	Cookeville
Cordell Hull	March 4, 1923	March 4, 1931	Democratic	Celina	US Secretary of State 1933-1944
John R. Mitchell	March 4, 1931	January 3, 1939	Democratic	Crossville
Albert Gore, Sr.	January 3, 1939	December 4, 1944	Democratic	Carthage	Resigned December 4, 1944 to enter US Army
Vacant		December 4, 1944 - January 3, 1945
Albert Gore, Sr.	January 3, 1945	January 3, 1953	Democratic	Carthage
Joe L. Evins	January 3, 1953	January 3, 1977	Democratic	Smithville	Redistricted from the 5th district
Al Gore	January 3, 1977	January 3, 1983	Democratic	Carthage	Redistricted to the 6th district, US VP 1993-2001
Jim Cooper	January 3, 1983	January 3, 1995	Democratic	Shelbyville
Van Hilleary	January 3, 1995	January 3, 2003	Republican	Spring City
Lincoln Davis	January 3, 2003	January 3, 2011	Democratic	Pall Mall
Scott DesJarlais	January 3, 2011	Present	Republican	South Pittsburg	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
• Political Graveyard database of Tennessee congressmen

External links

Congress.com: Tennessee Congressional districts

• Google map of Tennessee's 4th district at GovTrack.us
• National Atlas maps of all congressional districts
• U.S. Census data searchable by congressional district
• Opensecrets.org Fundraising data from FEC reports
• 2006 results by county from CBSNews.com

"TN-4" redirects here. TN-4 may also refer to Tennessee State Route 4.