The 1982 congressional elections in Tennessee was held on November 2, 1982, to determine who will represent the state of Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives.
Following the 1982 elections, TennesseeâÂÂs congressional delegation changed in size due to reapportionment after the 1980 United States census. The state regained the 9th congressional district that it had lost after the 1970 census, increasing its delegation from eight to nine members. The newly 4th congressional district, an open seat won by Democrat Jim Cooper, combined territory from several previous districts. Although the "4th district" designation had existed previously, the configuration used in 1982 was substantially different and had no incumbent. CooperâÂÂs victory was considered a Democratic gain, resulting in a net increase of one seat for the Democratic Party and leaving the Tennessee delegation with a 6âÂÂ3 Democratic majority.
|- ! | Jimmy Quillen | | Republican | 1962 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | John Duncan Sr. | | Republican | 1964 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Marilyn Lloyd | | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | colspan=3 | None (district created) | | New seat.<br/>Democratic gain. | nowrap |
|- ! | Bill Boner | | Democratic | 1978 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Al Gore<br/> | | Democratic | 1976 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Robin Beard<br/> | | Republican | 1972 | | Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.<br/>Republican hold. | nowrap |
|- ! | Ed Jones<br/> | | Democratic | 1969 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
|- ! | Harold Ford Sr.<br/> | | Democratic | 1974 | Incumbent re-elected. | nowrap |
The new 4th district ran diagonally across the state, from heavily Republican areas near the Tri-Cities, Knoxville and Chattanooga to the fringes of the Nashville suburbs. The district stretched across five media markets â the Tri-Cities (Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol), Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville and Huntsville, Alabama. The district touched four states â Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi â and nearly touched North Carolina and Georgia.
Democratic nominee Jim Cooper defeated Cissy Baker, an editor in Washington for CNN and the daughter of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, with 66% of the vote, becoming the youngest member of Congress at the time at the age of 28.
Prior to this election, much of the eastern portion of the 4th had not been represented by a Democrat since the Civil War.
Republican nominee Don Sundquist sought the seat of Congressman Robin Beard, who was retiring to run against Jim Sasser for the U.S. Senate. Beard's district, the 6th, had been renumbered as the 7th following redistricting. In the general election, Sundquist edged Bob Clement, son of former Governor Frank G. Clement, by just over 1,000 votes out of over 145,000 votes cast.
This district would not have a competitive general election again until the 2025 7th congressional district special election.