Tennessee's 1st congressional district is the congressional district of northeast

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, including all of Carter, Cocke,

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 Unicoi may refer to: *Unicoi Mountains, a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States *Unicoi, Tennessee *Unicoi County, Tennessee *Unicoi State Park Unicoi State Park & Lodge is a ...

, and

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counties and parts of Jefferson County and Sevier County. It is largely coextensive with the Tennessee portion of the

Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

region of northeast Tennessee and southwest

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. Cities and towns represented within the district include Blountville,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, Church Hill,

Elizabethton Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both t ...

, Erwin, Greeneville, Johnson City, Jonesborough, Kingsport, Morristown, Mountain City, Newport, Pigeon Forge, Roan Mountain, Rogersville,

Sneedville Sneedville is the only city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,282 per the 2020 census. History Settlement began in the 1790s, following the American Revolutionary War,Will Thomas Hale and Dix ...

Sevierville Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first hum ...

and

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Classical Rome, Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable dist ...

. The 1st district's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has been held by Republicans since 1881. The district was created in 1805 when the was divided among multiple districts. The district's current representative is Republican Diana Harshbarger, who was first elected in 2020 following the retirement of Republican Phil Roe.

Election results from other races

Political characteristics

The 1st has generally been a very secure voting district for the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

since the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, and is one of only two ancestrally Republican districts in the state (the other being the neighboring 2nd district). Republicans (or their antecedents) have held the seat continuously since 1881 and for all but four years since 1859, while Democrats (or their antecedents) have held the congressional seat for all but eight years from when Andrew Jackson was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1796 (as the state's single at large representative) up to the term of Albert Galiton Watkins ending in 1859.

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a De ...

, the seventeenth

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, represented the district from 1843 to 1853. The 1st was one of four districts in Tennessee whose congressmen did not resign when Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861.

Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson (March 19, 1812 – August 24, 1873) was an American attorney, politician, and judge, active primarily in East Tennessee during the mid-19th century. He represented Tennessee's 1st Congressional District in the 36th ...

was reelected as a Unionist (the name used by a coalition of Republicans, northern Democrats and anti-Confederate Southern Democrats) to the

Thirty-seventh Congress The 37th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 186 ...

, but he was arrested by Confederate troops while en route to Washington, D.C. and taken to Richmond. Nelson was paroled and returned home to Jonesborough, where he kept a low profile for the length of his term. Like the rest of East Tennessee,

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

was not as common in this area as the rest of the state due to its mountain terrain, which was dominated by small farms instead of plantations. The district was also the home of the first exclusively abolitionist periodicals in the nation, ''The Manumission Intelligencer'' and ''The Emancipator'', founded in Jonesborough by Elihu Embree in 1819. Due to these factors, this area supported the Union over the Confederacy in the Civil War, and identified with the Republican Party after Tennessee was readmitted to the Union in 1867, electing candidates representing the Unionist Party—a merger of Republicans and pro-Union Democrats—both before and after the war. This allegiance has continued through good times and bad ever since, with Republicans dominating every level of government. While a few Democratic pockets exist in the district's urban areas, they are not enough to sway the district. Since 1898, Democrats have only crossed the 40 percent barrier twice, in 1962 and 1976. The district's Republican bent is no less pronounced at the presidential level. It was one of the few areas of Tennessee where

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president ...

did well in 1964. Indeed, Johnson and Washington counties are among the few counties in the country to have never supported a Democrat for president. Franklin D. Roosevelt turned in respectable showings in the district during his four runs for president, as did

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

in 1976. However, Carter is the last Democrat to come close to carrying any county in the district. The district typically gives its congressmen very long tenures in Washington; indeed, it elected some of the few truly senior Southern Republican congressmen before the 1950s. Only nine people have represented it since 1921. Two of them, B. Carroll Reece and

Jimmy Quillen James Henry Quillen (January 11, 1916Selective Service System and U.S. Navy official records both list Quillen's date of birth as January 11, 1915. – November 2, 2003) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Unite ...

, are the longest-serving members of the House in Tennessee history. Reece held the seat for all but six years from 1921 and 1961, while Quillen held it from 1963 to 1997.

List of members representing the district

, - style="height:3em" , align=left , Brookins Campbell , , Democratic , nowrap , March 4, 1853 –
December 25, 1853 , rowspan=3 , , Elected in 1853.
Died. , rowspan=6 , 1853–1863
} , - style="height:3em" , colspan=2 , ''Vacant'' , nowrap , December 25, 1853 –
March 30, 1854 , , - style="height:3em" , align=left , Taylor-nathaniel-green-by-shaver

Nathaniel G. Taylor Nathaniel Green Taylor (December 29, 1819 – April 1, 1887) was an American lawyer, farmer, and politician from Tennessee. He was U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1854 to 1855, and again from 1866 to 1867, and Commissioner of India ...

, , Whig , nowrap , March 30, 1854 –
March 3, 1855 , Elected to finish Campbell's term.
Lost re-election. , - style="height:3em" , align=left , Albert G. Watkins , , Democratic , nowrap , March 4, 1855 –
March 3, 1859 , , Elected in 1855.
Re-elected in 1857.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , align=left , Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson - Brady-Handy

Thomas A. R. Nelson , ,

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

, nowrap , March 4, 1859 –
March 3, 1861 , , Elected in 1859.
Re-elected in 1861, but captured en route to Congress and failed to take his seat. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2 colspan=2 , ''Vacant'' , rowspan=2 nowrap , March 4, 1861 –
July 24, 1866 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 ,

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 polici ...

and

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, - style="height:3em" , rowspan=3 , 1863–1873
, - style="height:3em" , align=left , Taylor-nathaniel-green-by-shaver

, , Unionist , nowrap , July 24, 1866 –
March 3, 1867 , , Elected in 1865.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2 align=left , Roderick-randum-butler

Roderick R. Butler , rowspan=2 , Republican , rowspan=2 nowrap , March 4, 1867 –
March 3, 1875 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1867.
Re-elected in 1868.
Re-elected in 1870.
Re-elected in 1872.
Lost re-election. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=5 , 1873–1883
, - style="height:3em" , align=left , William McFarland , , Democratic , nowrap , March 4, 1875 –
March 3, 1877 , , Elected in 1874.
Lost re-election. , - style="height:3em" , align=left , James Henry Randolph - Brady-Handy

James H. Randolph , , Republican , nowrap , March 4, 1877 –
March 3, 1879 , , Elected in 1876.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , align=left , Taylor-robert-love-before-1912

Robert L. Taylor , , Democratic , nowrap , March 4, 1879 –
March 3, 1881 , , Elected in 1878.
Lost re-election. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2; align=left ,

Augustus H. Pettibone Augustus Herman Pettibone (January 21, 1835 – November 26, 1918) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 1st congressional district of Tennessee. Biography Pettibone was born in Bedford ...

, rowspan=2; , Republican , rowspan=2; nowrap , March 4, 1881 –
March 3, 1887 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1880.
Re-elected in 1882.
Re-elected in 1884.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=3 , 1883–1893
, - style="height:3em" , align=left , Roderick-randum-butler

Roderick R. Butler , , Republican , nowrap , March 4, 1887 –
March 3, 1889 , , Elected in 1886.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2; align=left , AlfredATaylor

Alfred A. Taylor , rowspan=2; , Republican , rowspan=2; nowrap , March 4, 1889 –
March 3, 1895 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1888.
Re-elected in 1890.
Re-elected in 1892.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=3 , 1893–1903
, - style="height:3em" , align=left , William C. Anderson , , Republican , nowrap , March 4, 1895 –
March 3, 1897 , , Elected in 1894.
Lost renomination. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2; align=left , Wpbrownlow

Walter P. Brownlow Walter Preston Brownlow (March 27, 1851 – July 8, 1910) was an American politician who represented Tennessee's 1st district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1897 until his death in 1910. He is remembered for obtaining large federa ...

, rowspan=2; , Republican , rowspan=2; nowrap , March 4, 1897 –
July 8, 1910 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1896.
Re-elected in 1898.
Re-elected in 1900.
Re-elected in 1902.
Re-elected in 1904.
Re-elected in 1906.
Re-elected in 1908.
Died. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=4 , 1903–1913
, - style="height:3em" , colspan=2 , ''Vacant'' , nowrap , July 8, 1910 –
November 8, 1910 , rowspan=2 , , , - style="height:3em" , align=left , Zachary D. Massey , , Republican , nowrap , November 8, 1910 –
March 3, 1911 , Elected to finish Brownlow's term.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2 align=left , SamRSells

Sam R. Sells , rowspan=2 , Republican , rowspan=2 nowrap , March 4, 1911 –
March 3, 1921 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1910.
Re-elected in 1912.
Re-elected in 1914.
Re-elected in 1916.
Re-elected in 1918.
Lost renomination. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=3 , 1913–1933
Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger,

, Hawkins,

, Sevier, Sullivan,

, and

counties , - style="height:3em" , align=left ,

B. Carroll Reece , , Republican , nowrap , March 4, 1921 –
March 3, 1931 , , Elected in 1920.
Re-elected in 1922.
Re-elected in 1924.
Re-elected in 1926.
Re-elected in 1928.
Lost renomination. , - style="height:3em" , align=left , Oscar B. Lovette , , Republican , nowrap , March 4, 1931 –
March 3, 1933 , , Elected in 1930.
Lost renomination. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2; align=left ,

B. Carroll Reece , rowspan=2; , Republican , rowspan=2; nowrap , March 4, 1933 –
January 3, 1947 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1932.
Re-elected in 1934.
Re-elected in 1936.
Re-elected in 1938.
Re-elected in 1940.
Re-elected in 1942.
Re-elected in 1944.
Retired to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee. , 1933–1943
, - style="height:3em" , rowspan=3 , 1943–1953
, - style="height:3em" , align=left ,

Dayton E. Phillips , , Republican , nowrap , January 3, 1947 –
January 3, 1951 , , Elected in 1946.
Re-elected in 1948.
Lost renomination. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2; align=left ,

B. Carroll Reece , rowspan=2; , Republican , rowspan=2; nowrap , January 3, 1951 –
March 19, 1961 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1950.
Re-elected in 1952.
Re-elected in 1954.
Re-elected in 1956.
Re-elected in 1958.
Re-elected in 1960.
Died. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=3 , 1953–1963
, - style="height:3em" , colspan= 2 , ''Vacant'' , nowrap , March 19, 1961 –
May 16, 1961 , rowspan=2 , , , - style="height:3em" , align=left ,

Louise Reece Louise Goff Reece (November 6, 1898 – May 14, 1970) was an American politician and a United States representative from Tennessee. Early life Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Reece was a daughter of Guy D. Goff and granddaughter of Nathan Goff, b ...

, , Republican , nowrap , May 16, 1961 –
January 3, 1963 , Elected to finish her husband's term.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=4; align=left , JimmyQuillen

, rowspan=4; , Republican , rowspan=4; nowrap , January 3, 1963 –
January 3, 1997 , rowspan=4 , , rowspan=4 , Elected in 1962.
Re-elected in 1964.
Re-elected in 1966.
Re-elected in 1968.
Re-elected in 1970.
Re-elected in 1972.
Re-elected in 1974.
Re-elected in 1976.
Re-elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Re-elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Retired. , 1963–1973
, - style="height:3em" , 1973–1983
, - style="height:3em" , 1983–1993
, - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2 , 1993–2003
, - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2; align=left ,

Bill Jenkins , rowspan=2; , Republican , rowspan=2; nowrap , January 3, 1997 –
January 3, 2007 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=3 , 2003–2013
, - style="height:3em" , align=left , Dave Davis, official 110th Congress photo

Dave Davis, official 110th Congress photo

David Davis , , Republican , nowrap , January 3, 2007 –
January 3, 2009 , , Elected in 2006.
Lost renomination. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2; align=left , Phil Roe, Official Portrait, 112th Congress

Phil Roe, Official Portrait, 112th Congress

Phil Roe , rowspan=2; , Republican , rowspan=2; nowrap , January 3, 2009 –
January 3, 2021 , rowspan=2 , , rowspan=2 , Elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Retired. , - style="height:3em" , rowspan=2 , 2013–Present
, - style="height:3em" , align=left , Diana Harshbarger (TN-01)