Tennessee's 6th congressional district

Tennessee's 6th congressional district
Tennessee's 6th congressional district – since January 3, 2013.
U.S. Representative	John Rose R–Cookeville
Distribution	48.23% urban 51.77% rural
Population (2016)	761,538
Median income	$53,708
Ethnicity	91.78% White 4.51% Black 1.07% Asian 4.31% Hispanic 0.27% Native American
Cook PVI	R+24

The 6th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican John Rose since January 2019.

Current boundaries

The district is located in north-central Tennessee and borders Kentucky to the north. It is currently composed of the following counties: Cannon, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, White, and Wilson. It also contains very small pieces of Cheatham and Van Buren.

Characteristics

Much of the Sixth District is rural and wooded. It is spread across the geographic regions known as the Cumberland Plateau, the Highland Rim, and the Central Basin. The area is known for its waterfalls, such as Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls.

With close access to interstates 24, 40, and 65, subdivisions are sprouting almost exponentially, fast filling with new economy managers. Recently, many companies have opened either manufacturing or distribution centers in the 6th District. This includes Amazon and Bridgestone-Firestone in Lebanon, gun manufacturer Beretta in Gallatin, and clothing manufacturer Under Armour in Mt. Juliet.

Politically speaking, the region was traditionally a "Yellow Dog Democrat" district. However, the district began shifting rightward as Nashville's suburbs bled into the district. It supported Bill Clinton in 1992, partly due to Gore's presence as Clinton's running mate. However, it has not supported a Democrat for president since. By the turn of the century, it was obvious that the Democrats would have a hard time holding onto the district once longtime Democratic incumbent Bart Gordon retired.

Gordon retired in 2010, and Black—then a state senator—won the seat in a landslide, proving just how Republican this district had become. The 2010 redistricting made the district even more Republican, with its longtime anchor, Murfreesboro, being drawn out of the district. Since then, no Democrat has won an entire county within the district in any presidential, gubernatorial, senate, or congressional election.

According to the 2010 census, the five largest cities are Hendersonville (51,372), Cookeville (30,425), Gallatin (30,278), Lebanon (26,190), and Mt. Juliet (23,671).

Election results from presidential races

Year	Result
2004	George W. Bush 60 - 40%
2008	John McCain 65 - 33.5%
2012	Mitt Romney 70 - 29.5%
2016	Donald Trump 72.6 - 23.7%

History

Prior to the 1980 census, when Tennessee picked up a district, most of what is now the 6th district was in the 4th district.

During the 1940s, this area was represented by Albert Gore, Sr. of Carthage. Gore was elected to the United States Senate in 1952, where he was instrumental in creating the Interstate Highway system.

From 1953 to 1977, the area was represented by Joe L. Evins of Smithville. Evins's nephew, Dan Evins, was the founder of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant/retail chain. Cracker Barrel's headquarters are still located in Lebanon.

In 1976, Evins was succeeded by Al Gore, future Vice President and son of Albert Gore, Sr. He was representing the area when much of it was moved into the present 6th District.

Shortly following the redistricting into the 6th District, Gore was elected to the United States Senate. He was then succeeded by former Democratic State Chair Bart Gordon of Murfreesboro. Gordon held the post for the next twenty-six years, relatively unopposed. The only year he faced much opposition was 1994, when attorney Steve Gill ran against him. Gordon defeated Gill by only one percentage point.

Diane Black was elected in the Republican landslide of 2010 when Democrat Bart Gordon decided to end a 26-year career in Congress. Black's victory marked the first time that much of the district had been represented by a Republican since 1921, and for only the second time since Reconstruction.

Following an eight-year stint in Congress, Black made an unsuccessful run for Governor of Tennessee in 2018. In the concurrent election, the district selected businessman and former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner John Rose.

Notable people

The Sixth District raised two Nobel Peace Prize winners: Cordell Hull of Pickett County (1945) and Al Gore of Carthage (2007). Also hailing from the district was World War I hero Alvin C. York.

Current residents include country musicians Charlie Daniels and Gretchen Wilson, as well as the band Kings of Leon.

List of members representing the district

District created March 4, 1813.

Name	Party	Years	Residence	Electoral history	District location
Parry W. Humpreys	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815	Nashville	Elected in 1813. Retired.	[Data unknown/missing.]
James B. Reynolds	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1815 – March 3, 1817	[Data unknown/missing.]	Elected in 1815. Lost re-election.
George W. L. Marr	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1819	[Data unknown/missing.]	Elected in 1817. [Data unknown/missing.]
Henry H. Bryan	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1821	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.] Re-elected but failed to qualify.
Vacant		March 4, 1821 – March 3, 1823
James T. Sandford	Jackson Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]
James K. Polk	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1833	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.] Redistricted to the 9th district.
Balie Peyton	Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835	[Data unknown/missing.]	[Data unknown/missing.]
	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837
William B. Campbell	Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843	Carthage	[Data unknown/missing.]
Aaron V. Brown	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	Nashville	Redistricted from the 10th district. [Data unknown/missing.]
Barclay Martin	Democratic	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.]
James H. Thomas	Democratic	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1851	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.]
William H. Polk	Independent Democratic	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.]
George W. Jones	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1859	Fayetteville	Redistricted from the 5th district. [Data unknown/missing.]
James H. Thomas	Democratic	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.]
American Civil War
Sanuel M. Arnell	Unconditional Unionist	July 24, 1866 – March 3, 1867	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.]
	Republican	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1871
Washington C. Whitthorne	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.] Redistricted to the 7th district.
John F. House	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883	Clarksville	[Data unknown/missing.]
Andrew J. Caldwell	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887	Nashville	[Data unknown/missing.]
Joseph E. Washington	Democratic	March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1897	Robertson County	[Data unknown/missing.]
John W. Gaines	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1909	Nashville	[Data unknown/missing.]
Jo Byrns	Democratic	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1933	Nashville	[Data unknown/missing.] Redistricted to the 5th district.
Clarence W. Turner	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – March 23, 1939	Waverly	[Data unknown/missing.] Died.
Vacant		March 23, 1939 – May 11, 1939
W. Wirt Courtney	Democratic	May 11, 1939 – January 3, 1943	Franklin	Redistricted from the 5th district. Redistricted to the 7th district.
Percy Priest	Democratic	January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1953	Columbia	[Data unknown/missing.] Redistricted to the 5th district.
James P. Sutton	Democratic	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955	Lawrenceburg	Redistricted from the 7th district. [Data unknown/missing.]
Ross Bass	Democratic	January 3, 1955 – November 3, 1964	Pulaski	[Data unknown/missing.] Resigned when elected to US Senate
Vacant		November 3, 1964 – January 3, 1965
William R. Anderson	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1973	Waverly	[Data unknown/missing.]
Robin Beard	Republican	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1983	Somerville	[Data unknown/missing.]
Al Gore	Democratic	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1985	Carthage	Redistricted from the 4th district. [Data unknown/missing.]
Bart Gordon	Democratic	January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2011	Murfreesboro	[Data unknown/missing.] Retired.
					2003 – 2013
Diane Black	Republican	January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019	Gallatin	[Data unknown/missing.] Retired to run for Governor of Tennessee.
					2013 – Present
John Rose	Republican	January 3, 2019 – Present	Temperance Hall	Elected in 2018.

See also

• Tennessee's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

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