The 2004 congressional elections in Tennessee was held on November 2, 2004, to determine who will represent the state of Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives. Following the 2004 elections, no seats changed hands, leaving the Tennessee delegation at a 5-4 Democratic majority.
Tennessee was one of four states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2004, the other states being Colorado, Connecticut, and New Mexico.
TennesseeâÂÂs 1st congressional district covered 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 has been represented by Republican Bill Jenkins.
TennesseeâÂÂs 2nd congressional district lies in the east-central part of the state, based in Knoxville, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. It has been represented by Republican Jimmy Duncan since November 1988. He ran against Democrat Bob Scott. No Democrat has held this seat since 1855.
TennesseeâÂÂs 3rd congressional district, which stretches from the Chattanooga metropolitan area in southern Tennessee to Claiborne County in northern Tennessee, is strongly conservative and has been represented by Republican Congressman Zach Wamp since his initial 1994 election.
This district lies in Middle and East Tennessee and includes all of Bledsoe, Campbell, Coffee, Cumberland, Fentress, Franklin, Giles, Grundy, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Maury, Moore, Morgan, Pickett, Scott, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren, and White Counties, as well as portions of Hickman, Roane, and Williamson counties. It has been represented by Democrat Lincoln Davis since 2003.
TennesseeâÂÂs 5th congressional district was centered on Nashville and included portions of the surrounding area. The district was anchored by the majority of NashvilleâÂÂDavidson County, making Nashville its largest city and primary population center. In addition to Nashville, the district extended into parts of Cheatham County and Wilson County. This included communities such as Ashland City, Pleasant View, and Pegram in Cheatham County, as well as most of Lebanon, as well as Mount Juliet, and Green Hill in Wilson County.
TennesseeâÂÂs 6th congressional district lied 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.
TennesseeâÂÂs 7th congressional district stretched from portions of Shelby County in West Tennessee through parts of Middle Tennessee which included the majority of Williamson County and a part of southern suburban Nashville and northward to include Clarksville in Montgomery County, resulting in an unusually long and narrow configuration that combined distant suburban and rural areas into a single congressional district.
No Democratic primary was held.
TennesseeâÂÂs 8th congressional district, a Republican-leaning district, rooted in the northwestern portion of the state, had been represented by moderate Democratic Congressman John Tanner since 1989.
Republican nominee James L. Hart, a white supremacist and segregationist activist, faced controversy. As the only candidate on the primary ballot (facing only a write-in campaign), he won the Republican nomination, despite listing an out-of-state address in candidate filings. The state Republican Party disavowed his candidacy, describing his views on race as "abhorrent and outrageous" and urging "all Republicans and Tennesseans to reject the candidacy of James Hart wholly and unequivocally." Hart lost to incumbent Democrat John Tanner, receiving 25.6% of the vote.
TennesseeâÂÂs 9th congressional district, based exclusively within the city of Memphis, has the distinction of being the state's most liberal district, the only district contained within one county, and Tennessee's only African-American majority district. Incumbent Democratic Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. had represented this district since his initial 1996 election.