The 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on November 2, 2010, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, one from each of the state's nine

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. During the general elections, the Republicans flipped Tennessee's 4th, 6th, and

8th 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

congressional districts, which changed Tennessee's House delegation from a 5-4 Democratic majority to a 7-2 Republican majority.

Overview

By district

Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee by district:

District 1

This district covers northeast

, including all of

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Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

, Hamblen,

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...

, Hawkins,

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

, Sullivan, Unicoi, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

counties and parts of Jefferson County and Sevier County. It had been represented by Republican Phil Roe since 2009. The winner of the GOP primary was all but assured of representing the district in Congress as this is one of the safest seats for the GOP; it had held the seat continuously since 1881 and, since prior to the Civil War, the GOP or its predecessors had held the seat for all but four years.

Democratic primary

*Michael Clark

Republican primary

* Phil Roe, incumbent *Mahmood "Michael" Sabri

General election

Race ranking and details
from

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Campaign contributions
from

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

Race profile
at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

District 2

This district lies in the east central part of the state, based in

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It had been represented by Republican Jimmy Duncan since November, 1988. The winner of the GOP primary was all but assured of representing the district in Congress as this was one of the safest seats for the GOP (even safer than the neighboring First District); the GOP or its predecessors had held the seat continuously since prior to the Civil War.

Democratic primary

*Dave Hancock

Republican primary

* Jimmy Duncan, incumbent

General election

Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

District 3

Republican Representative

Zach Wamp Zachary Paul Wamp (born October 28, 1957) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Chattanooga and includes large parts of East Tennessee, ...

announced that he would be running for governor in 2010, leaving the third district open.

Democratic primary

*Alicia Mitchell *Brenda Freeman Short *Brent Davis Staton * John Wolfe Jr., attorney and perennial candidate *Larry J. Abeare, Sr (write-in)

Republican primary

*Tommy Crangle * Chuck Fleischmann, attorney *Tim Gobble *Harvey Howard *Jean Howard-Hill *Van Irion *Rick Kernea * Basil Marceaux, perennial candidate *Art Rhodes * Robin Smith, former TNGOP Chairwoman *Grover Travillian

General election

Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

District 4

Democratic incumbent

Lincoln Davis Lincoln Edward Davis (born September 13, 1943) is an American politician and the former U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One. Early life, education and career Da ...

ran for re-election, challenged by Republican nominee

Scott DesJarlais Scott Eugene DesJarlais (; born February 21, 1964) is an American politician and physician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district stretches across East and Middle Tennessee. He is a member of the Republican Party. E ...

, a physician in

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, and Independents Paul H. Curtis
PVS
, James Gray
campaign sitePVS
, Richard S. Johnson
PVS
, and Gerald York
campaign sitePVS
. Davis had represented the district since 2003. He turned down a run for governor, deciding to run for re-election instead. This district lies in Middle and East Tennessee.

(R) won the election.
Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

General election

District 5

This district lies in

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the ...

, including almost all of Davidson County, half of

Wilson County Wilson County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Wilson County, Kansas *Wilson County, North Carolina *Wilson County, Tennessee *Wilson County, Texas Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 202 ...

, and half of Cheatham County. Nearly two-thirds of the district's voting population lives in Nashville. It had been represented by Democrat

Jim Cooper James Hayes Shofner Cooper (born June 19, 1954) is an American lawyer, businessman, professor, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for (based in Nashville and containing parts of Davidson, Cheatham, and Dickson Counties) fro ...

since 2003.

(D) won re-election.
Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

General election

District 6

This district lies in

, including all of

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

DeKalb DeKalb or De Kalb may refer to: People * Baron Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in the American Revolutionary War Places Municipalities in the United States * DeKalb, Illinois, the largest city in the United States named DeKalb **DeKal ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, Macon,

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia * Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Islands * Marshall Islands, an i ...

, Overton, Putnam,

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

, Rutherford,

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

, Sumner, and Trousdale Counties, as well as a portion of

. It had been represented by Democrat

Bart Gordon Barton Jennings Gordon (born January 24, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. He was Chairman of ...

since 1985. Gordon announced on December 14, 2009 that he would not be seeking another term, leaving the sixth district open. State Senator Jim Tracy, State Senator

Diane Black Diane Lynn Black (née Warren; January 16, 1951) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for from January 3, 2011, to January 3, 2019. The district includes several suburban and rural areas east of Nashville. A Republican, ...

, Rutherford County Republican Chairwoman Lou Ann Zelenik,

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Dave Evans, realtor Gary Mann, and businessman Kerry Roberts ran for the Republican nomination. Democratic candidates included lawyer and

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veteran Brett Carter, aviation safety inspector George Erdel, ex- marine Ben Leming, Henry Barry, and Devora Butler. The nominees were Brett Carter (D) and Diane Black (R).

(R) won the election.
Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

General election

District 7

This district lies in Middle and southwestern Tennessee, connecting suburbs of

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

and Nashville. It had been represented by Republican

Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator from Tennessee, a seat she has held since 2019. She is a member of the Republican Party. Blackbur ...

since 2003. She faced a challenge from

Austin Peay University Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitt ...

professor and Democrat Dr. Greg Rabidoux.

(R) won re-election.
Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

General election

District 8

Democratic incumbent

John S. Tanner John Sumners Tanner (born September 22, 1944) is a former American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , serving from 1989 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Since his retirement, Tanner has served as the Vice ...

, who had represented the district since 1989, announced his retirement in December 2009 leaving the eighth district open. Steve Fincher was the Republican nominee, and State Senator

Roy Herron Roy Herron (born September 30, 1953) is an American politician, attorney and author. He is the former Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party. He was the Tennessee State Senator for the 24th district for 16 years and for 10 years before tha ...

was the Democratic nominee. Also on the ballot are Tea Party candidate Donn Janes
campaign sitePVS
, who earlier dropped out of the Republican primary, and Independent Mark J. Rawles
campaign sitePVS
. This district covers roughly the northwestern part of the state. Stephen Fincher (R) won the election.
Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

Endorsements

Herron had been endorsed by the state's two largest newspapers, the

Memphis Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, al ...

and the

Nashville Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

. Fincher had been endorsed by former Governor

Winfield Dunn Bryant Winfield Culberson Dunn (born July 1, 1927) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 43rd governor of Tennessee from 1971 to 1975. He was the state's first Republican governor in fifty years.Phillip Langsdon, ''Tennesse ...

Citizens United Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

Eagle Forum Eagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has ...

Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, emb ...

Concerned Women for America Concerned Women for America (CWA) is a socially conservative, evangelical Christian Nonprofit organization, non-profit women's 501(c)_organization#501(c)(4), legislative action committee in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., W ...

, and State Senator

Dolores Gresham Dolores Gresham (born July 16, 1942) is a Republican politician from Tennessee. She was elected to the Tennessee Senate in the 2008 elections after having served three terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives. Her Senate District 26 encompa ...

Forecasts

As of October 22, 2010,

Rothenberg Political Report Stuart Rothenberg is an American editor, publisher, and political analyst. He is best known for his biweekly political newsletter ''The Rothenberg Political Report'', now known as ''Inside Elections''. He was also a regular columnist at ''Roll ...

rated the race as "Lean Republican",

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...

as "Leans GOP". Charlie Cook as "Lean Republican", CQ Politics as "Likely Republican",

Larry Sabato Larry Joseph Sabato (; born August 7, 1952) is an American political scientist and political analyst. He is the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, where he is also the founder and director of the Center for P ...

as "Likely R", and Chris Cillizza of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' placed the race at number 23 of the races most likely to change party hands. District 8 has a PVI of R+13. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican U.S. Senator John McCain carried the district with 56% of the vote.

Polling

General election

District 9

This district lies in southwestern

, located entirely within Shelby County and including most of the city of

. It had been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen since 2007. The Republicans nominated Charlotte Bergmann, who owns a Memphis-based marketing firm, Effective PMP, LLC. Steve Cohen (D) won re-election.
Race ranking and details
from

Campaign contributions
from

Race profile
at ''The New York Times''

General election

References

External links

Elections
from the Tennessee Department of State *
Official candidate list

U.S. Congress Candidates for Tennessee
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

Tennessee U.S. House
from OurCampaigns.com
Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Tennessee
from

2010 Tennessee General Election
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
House - Tennessee
from the ''

Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

''
Tennessee Election Guide
from Congress.org {{DEFAULTSORT:United States House Of Representatives Elections In Tennessee, 2010

2010 2010 Tennessee elections