Tennessee's 5th congressional district
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The 5th Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It currently includes almost all of Davidson County, half of Wilson County, and half of Cheatham County. Nearly two-thirds of the district's voting population lives in the state capital, Nashville.
Tennessee has had at least five congressional districts since 1827. The district's current configuration dates from 1953, when Tennessee lost a seat in redistricting. The Tennessee General Assembly shifted most of the territory of the former 6th District to neighboring districts, creating a 5th District located entirely in Davidson County. While other areas around Nashville have been added in subsequent years, the 5th has been drawn as a Nashville-based district ever since.
The 5th is a very safe seat for the Democratic Party. While some pockets of Republican influence exist in Cheatham and Wilson counties, they are always swamped at the ballot box by Nashville, a Democratic stronghold. While Republicans made several strong bids for the district in the late 1960s and early 1970s, they have only put up token candidates since 1972. Generally, the 5th is one of three seats in Tennessee that are not seriously contested by Republicans (the others being the 8th and 9th Districts).
Democrat Jim Cooper has represented the district since 2003.
Contents |
[edit] Representatives
* Died in office
** Assumed office by special election
Source: Political Graveyard database of Tennessee congressmen
[edit] Recent election results
| United States House elections, 2006: Tennessee District 5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Jim Cooper | 122,919 | 69.0 | -0.3 | |
| Republican | Thomas F. Kovach | 49,702 | 27.9 | -2.8 | |
| Independent | Ginny Welsch | 3,766 | 2.1 | ||
| Independent | Scott Knapp | 1,755 | 1.0 | ||
Source: November 7, 2006 General Election Official Returns (Accessed 2006-12-11)
| United States House elections, 2004: Tennessee District 5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Jim Cooper | 168,970 | 69.3 | +5.5 | |
| Republican | Scott Knapp | 74,978 | 30.7 | -2.5 | |
| Write-in candidate | Thomas F. Kovach | 15 | 0.0 | ||
Source: Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 2, 2004
[edit] History of district boundaries
Below are the counties included in Tennessee District 5 from 1921 to 2000:
- 1921-1930: Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Rutherford
- 1931-1940: Davidson, Macon, Montgomery, Robertson, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale
- 1941-1950: Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Franklin, Giles, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Rutherford, Wilson
- 1951-1970: Davidson
- 1971-1980: Cheatham, Davidson, Robertson
- 1981-1990: Davidson and Robertson
- 1991-2000: Davidson and most of Robertson
Source: Tennessee Blue Books
[edit] External links
Tennessee Congressional districts
| Tennessee's congressional districts |
|---|
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 The 10th - 13th districts are obsolete See also: Tennessee's past & present Representatives, Senators, and Delegations All U.S. districts - Apportionment - Redistricting - Gerrymandering - Maps |
