Tennessee's 5th congressional district

Tennessee's 5th congressional district
Map
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative
Distribution
  • 88.68% urban[1]
  • 11.32% rural
Population (2023)793,338[2][3]
Median household
income
$92,367[4]
Ethnicity
Cook PVIR+9[5]

The 5th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Andy Ogles since January 2023.

In the past, the fifth district has been nearly synonymous with Tennessee's capital city, Nashville, as the district has almost always been centered on Nashville throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. The city is a center for the music, healthcare, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home to numerous colleges and universities (its old nickname was "the Athens of the South"). It is also home to the Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, earning it the nickname "Music City".[6]

Since the 2022 election cycle, there is no longer a congressional district centered on the city of Nashville itself. Democrat Jim Cooper, the prior holder of the office, alleged that the district was gerrymandered to favor Republican candidates.[7] Prior to the 2020 House Redistricting Cycle, the district contained the entirety of Davidson County (which is coterminous with Nashville), making it a safe seat for the Democratic Party. Following redistricting, Nashville was split into 3 separate districts, effectively diluting the city's heavily Democratic voter base into the surrounding suburban and rural counties, which lean strongly Republican.[citation needed]

It is the wealthiest congressional district in the state of Tennessee. [8]

Current boundaries

[edit]

As of the 2020 United States redistricting cycle, the 5th District comprises a southern portion of Davidson County; portions of Wilson and Williamson Counties; and the entirety of Maury, Lewis, and Marshall Counties.[9]

Recent election results

[edit]
Results under old lines (2013-2023)
United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2012: District 5[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Cooper (incumbent) 171,358 65.22 +9.0
Republican Brad Staats 86,153 32.79 −9.3
Green John Miglietta 5,208 1.98 +1.8
Write-in candidate Sean Puckett 12 0.0
Total votes 262,731 100.00
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2014: District 5[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Cooper (incumbent) 96,148 62.32 −2.9
Republican Bob Ries 55,078 35.70 +2.91
Independent Paul Deakin 9,634 6.24 +6.2
Total votes 160,860 100.00
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2016: District 5[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Cooper (incumbent) 171,111 62.55 +0.23
Republican Stacy Ries Snyder 102,433 37.44 +1.74
Total votes 273,544 100.00
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2018: District 5[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Cooper (incumbent) 177,923 67.84 +5.29
Republican Jody M. Ball 84,317 32.15 −5.29
Write-in candidate Marshal Weaver 8 0.0
Total votes 202,248 100.00
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2020: District 5[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Jim Cooper (incumbent) 252,155 100.00 +32.16
Write-in 14 0.0
Total votes 252,169 100.00
Democratic hold

Results under new lines (2023-present)

United States House of Representatives Elections in Tennessee, 2022: District 5[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Andy Ogles 123,558 55.84 +55.84
Democratic Heidi Campbell 93,648 42.32 −57.75
Independent Derrick Brantley 2,090 0.95
Independent Daniel Cooper 1,132 0.51
Independent Rich Shannon 847 0.38
Total votes 221,275 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

Election results from statewide races

[edit]

Election results from presidential and statewide races under current lines:

Year Office Result
2016 President Donald Trump 55.6% - Hillary Clinton 38.5%
2018 Governor Bill Lee 54.2% - Karl Dean 42.8%
2018 Senate Marsha Blackburn 54.7% - Phil Bredesen 43.9%
2020 President Donald Trump 54.5% - Joe Biden 43.2%
2020 Senate Bill Hagerty 57.6% - Marquita Bradshaw 39.8%
2022 Governor Bill Lee 58.4% - Jason Martin 40.1%
Results under old lines (2013-2023)
Results under old lines (2003-2013)

History

[edit]

Following the 1950 census, Tennessee expanded briefly to ten districts. Even though it has since contracted back to nine districts, that marked the beginning of the continuous period where the 5th district was centered on Davidson County/Nashville.[16]

From 1941 to 1957, Nashville was represented by J. Percy Priest, who was the House majority whip in the 81st and 82nd Congresses. A dam in eastern Davidson County and the lake formed by the dam are both named in his memory.

Priest died just before the Election of 1956,[17] and the Democrats turned to Carlton Loser. Loser won that election, and then to two more Congresses after that. Loser appeared to win another Democratic nomination in 1962, but his primary came under investigation for voter fraud, and a court ordered a new election. In this new election, Loser was defeated by former state senator Richard Fulton.[18]

Richard "Dick" Fulton represented the 5th from 1963 until August 1975, when he retired from Congress to become the second mayor of metropolitan Nashville. Following the 1970 census, while Fulton was representing the district, Tennessee briefly contracted to eight congressional districts. During the 1970s, the district encompassed Davidson, Cheatham, and Robertson counties. This contraction of congressional districts forced the first time in thirty years that Davidson County was not the sole county in the district. (The fifth was only Davidson County from 1943 to 1972.)[16]

Once Fulton was Nashville's mayor, he was succeeded in Congress by former state senator Clifford Allen. Allen served for only a term and a half (November 1975 - June 1978) before he died in office due to complications from a heart attack suffered a month earlier.[19]

In the election of 1978, the fifth district selected state senator Bill Boner. He served in Congress for ten years, and then succeeded Fulton as mayor of Nashville. Boner was succeeded in 1988 by Bob Clement, former president of Cumberland University and son of the former governor Frank G. Clement. Clement served seven terms in Congress, where he represented Davidson and Robertson counties. He was one of the 81 Democratic congressmen who voted for the Iraq Resolution of 2002.[20]

Clement did not run for re-election in 2002, as he was running for the open U.S. Senate seat left by retiring Fred Thompson. He won the Democratic nomination easily, but was defeated in the general election by former governor Lamar Alexander.[21] Clement was succeeded in Congress by Jim Cooper, who, like Clement, was also the son of a former governor. Cooper is considered a blue dog Democrat. According to On The Issues, he is deemed "moderate", but is slightly to the left of the political center.[22] After the 2020 United States redistricting cycle moved the 5th district to the Republican-leaning suburbs to the south of Nashville, Cooper announced that he would not run again in 2022.[23] He was succeeded in Congress by Andy Ogles, the former mayor of Maury County.

List of members representing the district

[edit]
Member
(Residence)
Party Years Cong
ress
Electoral history District location
District formatting March 4, 1813

Felix Grundy
(Nashville)
Democratic-Republican March 4, 1813 –
July 1814
13th Redistricted from the 3rd district and re-elected in 1813.
Resigned.
1813–1823
Bedford, Davidson, Lincoln, Rutherford, and Williamson counties
Vacant July 1814 –
September 16, 1814

Newton Cannon
(Williamson County)
Democratic-Republican September 16, 1814 –
March 3, 1817
13th
14th
Elected to finish Grundy's term.
Re-elected in 1815.
Lost re-election.

Thomas Claiborne
(Nashville)
Democratic-Republican March 4, 1817 –
March 3, 1819
15th Elected in 1817.
Retired.

Newton Cannon
(Williamson County)
Democratic-Republican March 4, 1819 –
March 3, 1823
16th
17th
Elected in 1819.
Re-elected in 1821.
Retired.
Robert Allen
(Carthage)
Democratic-Republican[a] March 4, 1823 –
March 3, 1825
18th
19th
Redistricted from the 4th district and re-elected in 1823.
Re-elected in 1825.
Retired.
1823–1833
Smith, Sumner, and Wilson counties
Jacksonian March 4, 1825 –
March 3, 1827
Robert Desha
(Gallatin)
Jacksonian March 4, 1827 –
March 3, 1831
20th
21st
Elected in 1827.
Re-elected in 1829.
Retired.

William Hall
(Sumner County)
Jacksonian March 4, 1831 –
March 3, 1833
22nd Elected in 1831.
Retired.
John B. Forester
(McMinnville)
Jacksonian March 4, 1833 –
March 3, 1835
23rd
24th
Elected in 1833.
Re-elected in 1835.
Retired.
1833–1843
[data missing]
Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1835 –
March 3, 1837

Hopkins L. Turney
(Winchester)
Democratic March 4, 1837 –
March 3, 1843
25th
26th
27th
Elected in 1837.
Re-elected in 1839.
Re-elected in 1841.
Retired.

George Washington Jones
(Fayetteville)
Democratic March 4, 1843 –
March 3, 1853
28th
29th
30th
31st
32nd
Elected in 1843.
Re-elected in 1845.
Re-elected in 1847.
Re-elected in 1849.
Re-elected in 1851.
Redistricted to the 6th district.
1843–1853
[data missing]

Charles Ready
(Murfreesboro)
Whig March 4, 1853 –
March 3, 1855
33rd
34th
35th
Elected in 1853.
Re-elected in 1855.
Re-elected in 1857.
Lost re-election.
1853–1861
[data missing]
Know Nothing March 4, 1855 –
March 3, 1859

Robert H. Hatton
(Lebanon)
Opposition March 4, 1859 –
March 3, 1861
36th Elected in 1859.
Retired to join the Confederate Army.
District inactive March 3, 1861 –
July 24, 1866
37th
38th
39th
Civil War and Reconstruction

William B. Campbell
(Lebanon)
National Union July 24, 1866 –
March 3, 1867
39th Elected in 1865.
Retired.
1866–1873
[data missing]
John Trimble
(Nashville)
Republican March 4, 1867 –
March 3, 1869
40th Elected in 1867.
Retired.

William F. Prosser
(Nashville)
Republican March 4, 1869 –
March 3, 1871
41st Elected in 1868.
Lost re-election.

Edward I. Golladay
(Lebanon)
Democratic March 4, 1871 –
March 3, 1873
42nd Elected in 1870.
Lost re-election.

Horace Harrison
(Nashville)
Republican March 4, 1873 –
March 3, 1875
43rd Elected in 1872.
Redistricted to the 6th district and lost re-election.
1873–1883
[data missing]

John M. Bright
(Fayetteville)
Democratic March 4, 1875 –
March 3, 1881
44th
45th
46th
Redistricted from the 4th district and re-elected in 1874.
Re-elected in 1876.
Re-elected in 1878.
Lost re-election as an Independent Democrat.

Richard Warner
(Lewisburg)
Democratic March 4, 1881 –
March 3, 1885
47th
48th
Elected in 1880.
Re-elected in 1882.
Lost renomination.
1883–1893
[data missing]

James D. Richardson
(Murfreesboro)
Democratic March 4, 1885 –
March 3, 1905
49th
50th
51st
52nd
53rd
54th
55th
56th
57th
58th
Elected in 1884.
Re-elected in 1886.
Re-elected in 1888.
Re-elected in 1890.
Re-elected in 1892.
Re-elected in 1894.
Re-elected in 1896.
Re-elected in 1898.
Re-elected in 1900.
Re-elected in 1902.
Retired.
1893–1903
[data missing]
1903–1913
[data missing]

William C. Houston
(Woodbury)
Democratic March 4, 1905 –
March 3, 1919
59th
60th
61st
62nd
63rd
64th
65th
Elected in 1904.
Re-elected in 1906.
Re-elected in 1908.
Re-elected in 1910.
Re-elected in 1912.
Re-elected in 1914.
Re-elected in 1916.
Retired.
1913–1923
[data missing]

Ewin L. Davis
(Tullahoma)
Democratic March 4, 1919 –
March 3, 1933
66th
67th
68th
69th
70th
71st
72nd
Elected in 1918.
Re-elected in 1920.
Re-elected in 1922.
Re-elected in 1924.
Re-elected in 1926.
Re-elected in 1928.
Re-elected in 1930.
Lost renomination.
1923–1933
[data missing]

Jo Byrns
(Nashville)
Democratic March 4, 1933 –
June 4, 1936
73rd
74th
Redistricted from the 6th district and re-elected in 1932.
Re-elected in 1934.
Died.
1933–1943
[data missing]
Vacant June 4, 1936 –
January 3, 1937
74th
Richard M. Atkinson
(Nashville)
Democratic January 3, 1937 –
January 3, 1939
75th Elected in 1936.
Lost renomination.

Jo Byrns Jr.
(Nashville)
Democratic January 3, 1939 –
January 3, 1941
76th Elected in 1938.
Lost re-election.

Percy Priest
(Nashville)
Independent Democratic January 3, 1941 –
January 3, 1943
77th Elected in 1940.
Redistricted to the 6th district.

Jim Nance McCord
(Lewisburg)
Democratic January 3, 1943 –
January 3, 1945
78th Elected in 1942.
Retired to run for Governor of Tennessee.
1943–1953
[data missing]

Harold Earthman
(Murfreesboro)
Democratic January 3, 1945 –
January 3, 1947
79th Elected in 1944.
Lost renomination.

Joe L. Evins
(Smithville)
Democratic January 3, 1947 –
January 3, 1953
80th
81st
82nd
Elected in 1946.
Re-elected in 1948.
Re-elected in 1950.
Redistricted to the 4th district.

Percy Priest
(Nashville)
Democratic January 3, 1953 –
October 12, 1956
83rd
84th
Redistricted from the 6th district and re-elected in 1952.
Re-elected in 1954.
Died.
1953–1963
[data missing]
Vacant October 12, 1956 –
January 3, 1957
84th

J. Carlton Loser
(Nashville)
Democratic January 3, 1957 –
January 3, 1963
85th
86th
87th
Elected in 1956.
Re-elected in 1958.
Re-elected in 1960.
Lost renomination.

Richard Fulton
(Goodlettsville)
Democratic January 3, 1963 –
August 14, 1975
88th
89th
90th
91st
92nd
93rd
94th
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.
Resigned to become Mayor of Nashville.
1963–1973
[data missing]
1973–1983
Cheatham, Davidson, and Robertson counties.
Vacant August 14, 1975 –
November 25, 1975
94th

Clifford Allen
(Nashville)
Democratic November 25, 1975 –
June 18, 1978
94th
95th
Elected to finish Fulton's term.
Re-elected in 1976.
Died.
Vacant June 18, 1978 –
January 3, 1979
95th

Bill Boner
(Nashville)
Democratic January 3, 1979 –
October 5, 1987
96th
97th
98th
99th
100th
Elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Re-elected in 1982.
Re-elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Resigned to become Mayor of Nashville.
1983–1993
Davidson and Robertson counties.
Vacant October 5, 1987 –
January 19, 1988
100th

Bob Clement
(Nashville)
Democratic January 19, 1988 –
January 3, 2003
100th
101st
102nd
103rd
104th
105th
106th
107th
Elected to finish Boner's term.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Re-elected in 1996.
Re-elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.
1993–2003
Davidson and Robertson counties.

Jim Cooper
(Nashville)
Democratic January 3, 2003 –
January 3, 2023
108th
109th
110th
111th
112th
113th
114th
115th
116th
117th
Elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Re-elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Re-elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Retired.
2003–2013

Cheatham, Davidson, and Wilson counties.
2013–2023

Cheatham, Davidson, and Dickson counties.

Andy Ogles
(Columbia)
Republican January 3, 2023 –
present
118th Elected in 2022. 2023–present

Davidson, Lewis, Marshall, Maury, Williamson, and Wilson counties.

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Supported the Jackson faction in the 1824 United States presidential election

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov. US Census Bureau Geography. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "B03002: 2023 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates - Congressional District 5 (118th Congress), Tennessee". United States Census Bureau.
  3. ^ "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "My Congressional District".
  5. ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  6. ^ "Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)". Archived from the original on July 7, 2001.
  7. ^ "Gov. Lee signs congressional redistricting bill splitting Davidson County". WTVF. February 7, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  8. ^ Andrew DePietro (October 1, 2024). "The Richest Congressional Districts In Every State Of 2024". Forbes.
  9. ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  10. ^ "November 6, 2012 General Election" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  11. ^ "November 4, 2014 General Election" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  12. ^ "November 8, 2016 General Election" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  13. ^ "November 6, 2018 General Election" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  14. ^ "November 3, 2020 General Election" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  15. ^ "November 8, 2022 General Election" (PDF). Tennessee Secretary of State. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "JeffreyBLewis/congressional-district-boundaries". GitHub. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  17. ^ "J. PERCY PRIEST, 56, LEGISLATOR, DEAD; Tennessee Representative 16 Years, Ex-Democratic Whip, Was Commerce Chairman Was Teacher and Coach". The New York Times. October 13, 1956. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  18. ^ "It Starts with Richard Fulton | Politics | Nashville Banner". www.thenashvillebanner.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "Observer-Reporter - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  20. ^ "H.J.Res. 114 (107th): Authorization for Use of Military Force Against ... -- House Vote #455 -- Oct 10, 2002". GovTrack.us. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  21. ^ "Our Campaigns - TN US Senate Race - Nov 05, 2002". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  22. ^ OnTheIssues.org. "Jim Cooper on the Issues". house.ontheissues.org. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  23. ^ Sutton, Caroline (January 25, 2022). "US Rep. Jim Cooper announces he will not seek reelection in 2022". News Channel 5 Nashville. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
[edit]
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Home district of the speaker of the House
January 3, 1935 – June 4, 1936
Succeeded by

36°11′14″N 87°04′27″W / 36.18722°N 87.07417°W / 36.18722; -87.07417