2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee
2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee Turnout 41.32% [ 1] pp
Majority party
Minority party
Party
Republican
Democratic
Last election
4
5
Seats won
7
2
Seat change
Popular vote
955,078
541,527
Percentage
61.26%
34.73%
Swing
Results by party winners Results by district margin Democratic hold Republican hold Republican gain
Republican
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
Democratic
50–60%
70–80%
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 of Tennessee , one from each of the state's nine congressional districts .
During the general elections, the Republicans flipped Tennessee's 4th , 6th , and 8th congressional districts, which changed Tennessee's House delegation from a 5-4 Democratic majority to a 7-2 Republican majority.
Overview
District results by precinct
United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2010[ 2]
Party
Votes
Percentage
Seats Before
Seats After
+/–
Republican
955,078
61.26%
4
7
Democratic
541,527
34.73%
5
2
Independent
62,515
4.01%
0
0
0
Write-in
9
0.00%
0
0
0
Totals
1,559,129
100.00%
9
9
—
Popular vote
Republican
61.26%
Democratic
34.73%
Other
4.01%
House seats
Republican
77.78%
Democratic
22.22%
By district
Results of the 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee by district:[ 3]
District 1
This district covers northeast Tennessee , including all of Carter , Cocke , Greene , Hamblen , Hancock , Hawkins , Johnson , Sullivan , Unicoi , and Washington 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
Republican primary
Phil Roe , incumbentMahmood "Michael" Sabri
General election
District 2
This district lies in the east central part of the state, based in Knoxville 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
Republican primary
General election
District 3
Republican Representative Zach Wamp announced that he would be running for governor in 2010, leaving the third district open.[ 7]
Democratic primary
Alicia Mitchell
Brenda Freeman Short
Brent Davis Staton
John Wolfe Jr. , attorney and perennial candidateLarry J. Abeare Sr (write-in)
Republican primary
General election
District 4
Democratic incumbent Lincoln Davis ran for re-election, challenged by Republican nominee Scott DesJarlais , a physician in Jasper , and Independents Paul H. Curtis (PVS ), James Gray (campaign site , PVS ), Richard S. Johnson (PVS ), and Gerald York (campaign site , PVS ).
Davis had represented the district since 2003. He turned down a run for governor, deciding to run for re-election instead.[ 9]
This district lies in Middle and East Tennessee .
Scott DesJarlais (R) won the election.
General election
District 5
This district lies in Middle Tennessee , including 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 Nashville . It had been represented by Democrat Jim Cooper since 2003.
Jim Cooper (D) won re-election.
General election
District 6
This district lies in Middle Tennessee , including all of Bedford , Cannon , Clay , DeKalb , Jackson , Macon , Marshall , Overton , Putnam , Robertson , Rutherford , Smith , Sumner , and Trousdale Counties, as well as a portion of Wilson County . It had been represented by Democrat Bart Gordon since 1985. Gordon announced on December 14, 2009, that he would not be seeking another term, leaving the sixth district open.[ 9]
State Senator Jim Tracy , State Senator Diane Black , Rutherford County Republican Chairwoman Lou Ann Zelenik , United States Army Reserve Major General Dave Evans, realtor Gary Mann, and businessman Kerry Roberts ran for the Republican nomination.[ 10] lawyer and Iraq 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).
Diane Black (R) won the election.
General election
District 7
This district lies in Middle and southwestern Tennessee, connecting suburbs of Memphis and Nashville . It had been represented by Republican Marsha Blackburn since 2003. She faced a challenge from Austin Peay University professor and Democrat Dr. Greg Rabidoux .[ 11]
Marsha Blackburn (R) won re-election.
General election
District 8
Democratic incumbent John S. Tanner , who had represented the district since 1989, announced his retirement in December 2009 leaving the eighth district open.[ 9]
Steve Fincher was the Republican nominee,[ 12] Roy Herron was the Democratic nominee.[ 13] campaign site , PVS ), who earlier dropped out of the Republican primary, and Independent Mark J. Rawles (campaign site , PVS ).[ 14]
This district covers roughly the northwestern part of the state.
Stephen Fincher (R) won the election.
Endorsements
Herron had been endorsed by the state's two largest newspapers, the Memphis Commercial Appeal [ 15] Nashville Tennessean .[ 16]
Fincher had been endorsed by former Governor Winfield Dunn , Citizens United , Eagle Forum , Family Research Council , Concerned Women for America , and State Senator Dolores Gresham .[ 17]
Forecasts
As of October 22, 2010, Rothenberg Political Report rated the race as "Lean Republican",[ 18] Real Clear Politics as "Leans GOP".[ 19] Charlie Cook as "Lean Republican",[ 20] [ 21] Larry Sabato as "Likely R",[ 22] Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post [ 23]
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.[ 24]
Polling
Poll Source
Dates Administered
Stephen Fincher (R)
Roy Herron (D)
Donn Janes (I)
Undecided
Memphisnewsblog.com [ 25] August 10–11, 2010
47%
37%
5%
11%
General election
By county
County[ 26]
Stephen FincherRepublican
Roy HerronDemocratic
Other votes
%
#
%
#
%
#
Benton 50.79% 2,525 47.74%
2,373
1.47%
73
Carroll 64.70% 5,258 34.60%
2,856
1.70%
140
Crockett 77.24% 3,360 21.75%
946
1.01%
44
Dickson 77.24% 7,512 21.75%
3,959
1.01%
316
Gibson 63.99% 9,230 33.80%
4,875
2.22%
320
Haywood 47.69%
2,524
51.16% 2,708 1.15%
61
Henry 58.54% 5,460 39.55%
3,689
1.91%
178
Houston 48.01%
991
49.66% 1,025 2.33%
48
Humphreys 52.23% 2,536 45.11%
2,190
2.66%
129
Lake 47.55%
651
51.13% 700 1.31%
18
Lauderdale 60.63% 3,611 37.98%
2,262
1.39%
83
Madison 57.11% 15,939 40.74%
11,372
2.15%
600
Montgomery 57.32% 4,120 39.29%
2,824
3.39%
244
Obion 58.15% 5,363 40.40%
3,726
1.45%
134
Shelby 35.85%
4,468
62.16% 7,747 1.98%
247
Stewart 52.99% 1,967 44.32%
1,645
2.69%
100
Tipton 69.65% 10,628 26.15%
3,991
4.20%
641
Weakley 59.75% 5,575 38.73%
3,614
1.52%
142
District 9
This district lies in southwestern Tennessee , located entirely within Shelby County and including most of the city of Memphis . 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.
General election
See also
References
^ "Tennessee Voter Turnout in 2010" . Tennessee Secretary of State . November 2, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2023 .^ "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives" . Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2012 .^ Haas, Karen L. (June 3, 2011). "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" . Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives . Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2019 . ^ a b c "DemUSHouseCounty" (PDF) . State of Tennessee, August 5, 2010, Democratic Primary . Tennessee Secretary of State. August 5, 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .^ a b c "RepUSHouseCounty" (PDF) . State of Tennessee, August 5, 2010, Republican Primary . Tennessee Secretary of State. August 5, 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .^ a b c d e f g h i "USHCounty" (PDF) . State of Tennessee, November 2, 2010, State General . Tennessee Secretary of State. November 2, 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .^ "Tennessee: Wamp touts poll saying he's top GOP pick for governor | Chattanooga Times Free Press" . Timesfreepress.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010 .^ Isenstadt, Alex (July 27, 2009). "Divisive Tennesseean seeks seat" . Politico. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019 . ^ a b c John McArdle (December 22, 2009). "Rating Change Signifies Challenge to Tenn.'s Davis" . CQ Politics. Archived from the original on December 26, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009 . ^ McArdle, John (December 14, 2009). "Tracy to Enter Race to Replace Gordon - The Eye (CQ Politics)" . Blogs.cqpolitics.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010 . ^ "Dr. Greg Rabidoux files for U.S. 7th Congressional District » Clarksville, TN Online" . Clarksvilleonline.com. June 4, 2009. Archived from the original on October 30, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010 .^ Locker, Richard. "Jackson, Tenn., doctor weighing run for Congress" . The Commercial Appeal. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010 . ^ Dunlap, Stanley (December 8, 2009). "Mercer plans to run for Tanner's seat". The Jackson Sun ^ "Donn Janes Announces He Will Run as a Tea Party Candidate; Pulls Out of Republican Party Primary" . Marketwire.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010 .^ "Editorial: Herron ready for Washington" . Memphis Commercial Appeal Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2010 .^ "Herron targets jobs, broadband and infrastructure" . Nashville Tennessean the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2010 .^ "Stephen Fincher for Congress - Endorsements" . Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. Retrieved October 22, 2010 .^ "House Ratings" . insideelections.com . Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2021 .^ "2010 - Tennessee 8th District - Fincher vs. Herron | RealClearPolitics" . www.realclearpolitics.com . Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2021 .^ "Charlie Cook Political Report" . Archived from the original on July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008 .^ "CQ Politics" . Archived from the original on February 24, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2010 .^ Wood, Issac. House Race Changes Archived 2010-10-23 at the Wayback Machine , Sabato's Crystal Ball
^ Cillizza, Chris.The Fix 50: The Battle for House control Archived 2010-10-02 at the Wayback Machine , The Washington Post
^ "Tennessee - 8th District" . CQ Politics . Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2010 .^ Memphisnewsblog.com ^ "USHCounty" (PDF) . State of Tennessee, November 2, 2010, State General . Tennessee Secretary of State. November 2, 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019 .
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