The 6th 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 ...

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

. It has been represented by Republican John Rose since January 2019. Much of the sixth district is rural and wooded. It is spread across the geographic regions known as the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " Al ...

, the

Highland Rim The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee, North Alabama, and Kentucky which surrounds the Central Basin. The Central Basin is a geological dome which has subsequently fractured and eroded to produce a basin. The Highland R ...

, and the Central Basin. The area is known for its waterfalls, such as Burgess Falls and

Cummins Falls Cummins Falls is a waterfall on the Blackburn Fork River and is located in southern Jackson County, Tennessee. By volume, it is the eighth largest waterfall in Tennessee. The falls, with a total height of seventy-five feet, consist of two drops. T ...

. Much of the western part of the district is located in the

Nashville metropolitan area The Nashville metropolitan area (officially the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area) is a metropolitan statistical area in north-central Tennessee. Its principal city is Nashville, the capital of and l ...

, along with a portion of Nashville itself. With close access to interstates 24, 40, and 65, subdivisions are sprouting almost exponentially, fast filling with

new economy The New Economy refers to the ongoing development of the American economic system. It evolved from the notions of the classical economy via the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy, and has been driven by ...

managers. Recently, many companies have opened either manufacturing or distribution centers in the 6th district. This includes Amazon and Bridgestone-Firestone in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, gun manufacturer

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapons Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for various civilian, law enforcement, and military p ...

in Gallatin, and clothing manufacturer

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...

in Mt. Juliet. Politically speaking, the region was traditionally a " Yellow Dog Democrat" district. However, it began shifting rightward as Nashville's suburbs bled into the district and the rural counties trended Republican. It supported

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, ...

in 1992, partly due to the presence of

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 ...

, who represented it from 1977 to 1985, as Clinton's running mate. However, it has not supported a Democrat for president since. Longtime Democratic incumbent

Bart Gordon Barton Jennings Gordon (born January 24, 1949) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1985 until 2011. The district includes several rural areas and fast-growing suburbs east of Nashville. He was Chairman of th ...

consistently won reelection easily even as the district swung rightward after the turn of the millennium. By the mid-2000s, however, it was believed that the Democrats would have a hard time keeping the seat after Gordon retired. Gordon retired in 2010, and Republican state senator

Diane Black Diane Lynn Black (née Warren; born January 16, 1951) is an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative for from January 3, 2011, to January 3, 2019. The district includes several suburban and rural areas east of Nashville. A Republi ...

won the seat in a landslide, proving just how Republican this district had become. The 2010 redistricting made the district even more Republican, even as its longtime anchor of

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

was drawn into the neighboring 4th District. Since 2012, no Democrat has won an entire county within the district in any presidential, gubernatorial, senate, or congressional election.

Composition

The district is located in north-central Tennessee and borders Kentucky to the north. For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), it contains all or portions of the following counties and communities: Cannon County (2) : Auburntown, Woodbury Clay County (1) : Celina Cumberland County (7) : All 7 communities Davidson County (3) :

Goodlettsville Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner Counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; in 2020, its population was 17,789. It is part of the Nashville metropo ...

(shared with Sumner County),

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

(part; also

5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

and

7th Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season ep ...

), Ridgetop (part; also

; shared with Robertson County) DeKalb County (4) : All 4 communities Fentress County (4) : All 4 communities Jackson County (2) : Dodson Branch, Gainesboro Macon County (2) : Lafayette, Red Boiling Springs Overton County (2) : Hilham,

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

Pickett County (1) : Byrdstown Putnam County (4) : All 4 communities Scott County (4) : Helenwood,

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 ...

Oneida Oneida may refer to: Native American/First Nations * Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy * Oneida language * Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York * Oneida N ...

, Winfield Smith County (4) : All 4 communities Sumner County (18) : All 18 communities Trousdale County (1) : Hartsville Warren County (0) : No incorporated or census-recognized communities Wilson County (6) : Greenvale (part; also

(part; also

), Mount Juliet (part; also

), Statesville, Tuckers Crossroads, Watertown White County (3) : All 3 communities Van Buren County (1) : Spencer

Recent election results from statewide races

History

Prior to the 1980 census, when Tennessee picked up a district, most of what is now the 6th district was in the 4th district. During the 1940s, this area was represented by

Albert Gore, Sr. Albert Arnold Gore Sr. (December 26, 1907 – December 5, 1998) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 1953 to 1971. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S. representati ...

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

. Gore was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1952, where he was instrumental in creating the

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

system. From 1953 to 1977, the area was represented by Joe L. Evins of Smithville. Evins's nephew,

Dan Evins Danny Wood Evins (October 11, 1935 – January 14, 2012) was an American entrepreneur and founder of Cracker Barrel, a Southern-themed restaurant chain. Early life Evins was born in Smithville, Tennessee, on October 11, 1935, the youngest child o ...

, was the founder of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant/retail chain. Cracker Barrel's headquarters are still located in

. In 1976, Evins was succeeded by

, then-future Vice President and son of Albert Gore, Sr. He was representing the area when much of it was moved into the present 6th district. Shortly following the redistricting into the 6th district, Gore was elected to the

. He was then succeeded by former Tennessee Democratic Party chairman

. Gordon held the post for the next 26 years, generally with little difficulty. The only year he faced serious opposition was 1994, when attorney

Steve Gill Steve Gill (born November 15, 1956) is an American conservative talk radio host based in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a political commentator and radio host, and was the co-founder/political editor of the website ''The Tennessee Star'' prior to hi ...

ran against him. Gordon defeated Gill by only one percentage point. According to the 2010 census, the five largest cities are Hendersonville (51,372),

Cookeville Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, smaller cit ...

(30,425), Gallatin (30,278),

(26,190), and Mt. Juliet (23,671).

of Gallatin was elected in the Republican landslide of 2010 when Gordon retired after 26 years in Congress. Black's victory marked the first time that much of the district had been represented by a Republican since 1921, and for only the second time since Reconstruction.

List of members representing the district

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links