The 3rd congressional district of Tennessee is a
congressional district
Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...
in
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...
. It has been represented by Republican
Chuck Fleischmann
Charles Joseph Fleischmann ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district is based in Chattanooga and includes a large part of East Tennessee, including Oak ...
since January 2011. The third district has been centered on Chattanooga since before the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
In terms of density, the district is sparsely populated, as much of it is located within the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
. Almost half of the district's population lives in
Hamilton County.
Composition
The district comprises two halves, joined through a narrow tendril in
Roane County near
Ten Mile. The lower half borders
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
to the east and
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
to the south. For the
118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the
2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:
Anderson County (7)
: All 6 communities
Bradley County (7)
: All 7 communities
Campbell County (8)
:
Caryville,
Jacksboro,
LaFollette (part; also
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Minute and second of arc, ...
),
Rocky Top (shared with Anderson County)
Hamilton County (19)
: All 19 communities
McMinn County (7)
: All 7 communities
Monroe County (7)
: All 7 communities
Morgan County (7)
: All 7 communities
Polk County (7)
: All 3 communities
Roane County (6)
: All 6 communities
Scott County (3)
:
Elgin
Elgin may refer to:
Places Canada
* Elgin County, Ontario
* Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario
* Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario
* Elgin, Manit ...
,
Huntsville
Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...
(part; also
6th),
Robbins
Recent election results from statewide races
History
The 3rd district is on the dividing line between counties and towns that favored or opposed Southern secession in the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
.
George Washington Bridges was elected as a
Unionist (the name used by a coalition of Republicans and
War Democrats) to the
Thirty-seventh Congress, but he was arrested by
Confederate
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
troops while en route to
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and taken back to Tennessee. Bridges was held prisoner for more than a year before he escaped and went to Washington, D.C., and assumed his duties on February 23, 1863; serving until March 3, 1863.
During much of the 20th century, southeastern Tennessee was the only portion of traditionally heavily
Republican East Tennessee
East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...
where
Democrats were able to compete on a more-or-less even basis. The Chattanooga papers—the moderate-to-progressive ''Times'' and the archconservative ''Free Press'' (now consolidated into the
Chattanooga Times Free Press
The ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's majo ...
)—printed diametrically opposed political editorials. The northern counties have predominantly voted Republican since the 1860s, in a manner similar to their neighbors in the present
1st
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
and
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Minute and second of arc, ...
districts. However, Democrats have received some support in
coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
areas (dating from the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
). Also, in the years since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the government-founded city of
Oak Ridge, with its active
labor union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s and a population largely derived from outside the region, has been a source of potential Democratic votes.
This balance showed signs of changing beginning in the late 1950s, when rural and working-class whites began splitting their tickets in national elections to support
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
and
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...
. In later years, the district warmly supported
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...
in his third-party run for president in 1968, and gave equally strong support to
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
and
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, as well as
Governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Winfield Dunn and
Lamar Alexander
Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...
. The district has only supported a Democrat for president twice in the last half century, in 1956 and 1992. Even in those cases, that support was almost entirely attributable to the presence of native sons as
vice presidential candidates. In 1956, Senator
Estes Kefauver
Carey Estes Kefauver ( ;
July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1949 and in the U.S. Senate from 1949 until h ...
, who had represented the 3rd from 1939 to 1949, was the Democratic vice presidential candidate. In 1992, Senator
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
was
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
's running mate, but even with Gore's presence, the Democrats only carried the 3rd by 39 votes out of 225,000 cast.
Even as the district became friendlier to Republicans at the national level, Democrats still held their own at the local level. This trend was broken when Republican
Bill Brock
William Emerson Brock III (November 23, 1930 – March 25, 2021) was an American politician from the state of Tennessee. A member of Republican Party, he served in both chambers of the United States Congress. He was a member of the U.S. House ...
won the congressional seat in 1962, ending a 40-year run by Democrats. He handed the seat to fellow Republican
LaMar Baker in 1971. However, conservative Democrat
Marilyn Lloyd (the widow of a popular television news anchorman in Chattanooga) regained it in 1974 and held it for 20 years. As late as the early 1990s, area Democrats held at least half the local offices in the region, particularly in the southern portion.
As the 1990s wore on, Democrats slowly began losing even county and local offices that they had held for generations. This trend actually began as early as 1992, when Lloyd barely held onto her seat against Republican
Zach Wamp. Lloyd retired in 1994, and Wamp narrowly won the race to succeed her as part of that year's massive GOP wave. Wamp was handily reelected in 1996, and the Republicans have held it without serious difficulty since then. Indeed, the Democrats have only cleared 40 percent of the vote twice since Lloyd retired. Redistricting after the 2010 census consolidated the Republican hold on the seat, and it is now one of the most Republican districts in the nation.
Democrats still remain competitive in some local- and state-level races, particularly in Chattanooga and Oak Ridge. Chattanooga also sends some Democrats to the state legislature. However, even moderately liberal politics are a very hard sell, and most of the area's Democrats—particularly outside Chattanooga—are quite conservative on social issues. The 3rd district is home to several
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
denominations and colleges, contributing to the area's
social conservatism
Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...
.
After Wamp's January 2009 announcement that he would run for governor in 2010 instead of seeking re-election, several candidates announced campaigns for the seat. As of March 2010, the Republican field included former state party chairwoman Robin Smith, Air Force
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Rick Kernea, Tommy Crangle, Chattanooga attorney
Chuck Fleischmann
Charles Joseph Fleischmann ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district is based in Chattanooga and includes a large part of East Tennessee, including Oak ...
, Bradley County
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
Tim Gobble, Art Rhodes, Van Irion, and
Basil Marceaux. Fleischmann won the August 5, 2010 primary with about 28% of the total vote.
[Republican Primary Unofficial Results]
Tennessee Election Commission website, accessed August 6, 2010[Larry Henry]
Fleischmann beats Smith in 3rd District
''Chattanooga Times Free Press
The ''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metropolitan Chattanooga region of southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia. It is one of Tennessee's majo ...
'', August 6, 2010 Democratic candidates as of October 2009 were Paula Flowers of Oak Ridge, a former member of Governor
Phil Bredesen
Philip Norman Bredesen Jr. (; born November 21, 1943) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 48th governor of Tennessee from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected in ...
's cabinet, and former
Libertarian Party member Brent Benedict, who won the 2006 Democratic
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Work ...
for the seat but lost the general election to Wamp. Both of those Democrats later abandoned their campaigns, but four other candidates placed their names on the ballot for the August 2010 Democratic primary: Alicia Mitchell of Oak Ridge, Brenda Freeman Short of East Ridge, and Brent Staton and
John Wolfe of Chattanooga. Wolfe was the winner in the August 5, 2010 primary. Six independents also filed petitions to appear on the November 2010 ballot: Don Barkman, Mark DeVol, Gregory C. Goodwin, Robert Humphries, Mo Kiah and Savas T. Kyriakidis. Republican nominee
Chuck Fleischmann
Charles Joseph Fleischmann ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2011. The district is based in Chattanooga and includes a large part of East Tennessee, including Oak ...
won the general election in November 2010 with 57% of the vote, trailed by Democrat
John Wolfe with 28%, and independent Savas Kyriakidis with 10%.
2010 Congressional Election Results: Tennessee District 3
Washington Post, accessed December 9, 2010
List of members representing the district
Recent election results
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
See also
*Tennessee's congressional districts
There are currently nine United States congressional districts in Tennessee based on results from the 2020 United States census. There have been as few as eight and as many as thirteen congressional districts in Tennessee. The and the were lost ...
*List of United States congressional districts
Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats within the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wi ...
References
*
*
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{coord, 35, 45, 42, N, 84, 30, 34, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title
03
East Tennessee