Richard Venable

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Richard Venable, born October 2, 1944, is a Tennessee politician. He is county mayor of Sullivan County, Tennessee and is a former member of the Tennessee House of Representatives. He has also been chairman of the Sullivan County Board of Commissioners. He lost his Republican Party nomination bid in first congressional district race to replace the retiring Bill Jenkins to David Davis.

At the end of the race, Venable waited two weeks on official election results to concede his loss. Unofficial results were inconsistent, varying from a margin of 512 votes to 576 votes.

Turnout was lower than expected in Venable's hometown, Sullivan County, Tennessee. Voters faced wait times in excess of 2 hours in 90 degree weather. Many left before casting votes, citing physical disabilities or responsibilities to family or employer. A long ballot and new voting machines may have caused voters to take more time at the voting booth. Questions as to why more voting machines were not provided when approximately 80 remained unpacked, and why paper ballots were not issued in lieu of distributing unused machines remain a subject of speculation.