2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

For related races, see 2012 United States House of Representatives elections.

Not to be confused with 2012 Tennessee House of Representatives election.

2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

←  2010 November 6, 2012 (2012-11-06) 2014  →
All 9 Tennessee seats to the United States House of Representatives
Turnout	61.86% [1] 20.54 pp
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 7 2 Seats won 7 2 Seat change Popular vote 1,369,562 796,513 Percentage 60.55% 35.21% Swing 0.75% 0.51%
Results by party winners Results by district margin Results by county      Democratic hold      Republican hold Republican   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Tie

The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee was held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Tennessee, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election and an election to the U.S. Senate. Primary elections were held on August 2, 2012. ^[2]

Tennessee's congressional districts from 2012

These elections were the first under Tennessee's new congressional map after redistricting was completed by the state government. Following the 2012 elections, no seats changed hands, leaving the Tennessee delegation at a 7-2 Republican majority.

Overview

Popular vote Republican   60.55% Democratic   35.21% Other   4.24%

House seats Republican   77.78% Democratic   22.22%

By district

District	Incumbent	Party	First elected	Result	Candidates
Tennessee 1	Phil Roe	Republican	2008	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Phil Roe (Republican) 76.1% Alan Woodruff (Democratic) 19.9% Karen Brackett (Independent) 2.0%
Tennessee 2	Jimmy Duncan	Republican	1988 (Special)	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Jimmy Duncan (Republican) 74.5% Troy Goodale (Democratic) 20.5% Greg Samples (Independent) 1.7% Paul Coker (Independent) Brandon Stewart (Independent)
Tennessee 3	Chuck Fleischmann	Republican	2010	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Chuck Fleischmann (Republican) 61.5% Mary Headrick (Democratic) 35.5% Matthew Deniston (Independent) 3.1%
Tennessee 4	Scott DesJarlais	Republican	2010	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Scott DesJarlais (Republican) 55.8% Eric Stewart (Democratic) 44.2%
Tennessee 5	Jim Cooper	Democratic	1982 1994 (retired) 2002	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Jim Cooper (Democratic) 65.2% Brad Staats (Republican) 32.8% John Miglietta (Green) 2.0%
Tennessee 6	Diane Black	Republican	2010	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Diane Black (Republican) 76.6% Robert Beasley (Independent) 14.4% Pat Riley (Green) 9.0%
Tennessee 7	Marsha Blackburn	Republican	2002	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Marsha Blackburn (Republican) 71.0% Credo Amouzouvik (Democratic) 24.0% Howard Switzer (Green) 1.8% Jack Arnold (Independent) 1.7% William Akin (Independent) 1.1% Lenny Ladner (Independent) 0.5%
Tennessee 8	Stephen Fincher	Republican	2010	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Stephen Fincher (Republican) 68.3% Timothy Dixon (Democratic) 28.4% James Hart (Independent) 2.2% Mark Rawles (Independent) 1.0%
Tennessee 9	Steve Cohen	Democratic	2006	Incumbent re-elected.	Y Steve Cohen (Democratic) 75.1% George Flinn (Republican) 23.8% Brian Saulsberry (Independent) 0.6% Gregory Joiner (Independent) 0.5%

District 1

See also: Tennessee's 1st congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 1st congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Phil Roe Alan Woodruff Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 182,252 47,663 Percentage 76.0% 19.9%

Roe:     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. Representative before election Phil Roe Republican Elected U.S. Representative Phil Roe Republican

The redrawn 1st district will represent Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties, and parts of Jefferson County. The most populous city in the district is Johnson City, and the district will continue to be anchored by the Tri-Cities area. ^[3] Republican Phil Roe, who has represented the 1st district since 2009, ran for re-election. ^[4]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Phil Roe, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Roe (incumbent)	53,490	100.0
Total votes			53,490	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Alan Woodruff, attorney ^[4]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Alan Woodruff	5,687	100.0
Total votes			5,687	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Phil Roe (R)

Labor unions

• National Association of Letter Carriers ^[5]

Results

Tennessee's 1st congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Phil Roe (Incumbent)	182,252	76.0
	Democratic	Alan Woodruff	47,663	19.9
	Independent	Karen Brackett	4,837	2.0
	Green	Robert N. Smith	2,872	1.2
	Independent	Michael Salyer	2,048	0.9
Total votes			239,672	100.0
	Republican hold

District 2

See also: Tennessee's 2nd congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 2nd congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Jimmy Duncan Troy Goodale Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 196,894 54,522 Percentage 74.4% 20.6%

Duncan:     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. Representative before election John J. Duncan, Jr. Republican Elected U.S. Representative John J. Duncan, Jr. Republican

The redrawn 2nd district will represent Blount, Claiborne, Grainger, Knox, and Loudon counties, and parts of Campbell and Jefferson counties. The most populous city in the district is Knoxville; as before, the district is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. ^[3] Republican Jimmy Duncan who has represented the 2nd district since 1988 ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jimmy Duncan, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Nick Ciparro, musician and full-time student
• Joseph Leinweber Jr., U.S. Air Force

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	John J. Duncan, Jr. (incumbent)	36,335	83.4
	Republican	Joseph Leinweber, Jr.	3,919	9.0
	Republican	Nick Ciparro	3,317	7.6
Total votes			43,571	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Troy Goodale, professor of Political Science at Tusculum College

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Troy Goodale	5,617	100.0
Total votes			5,617	100.0

General election

Results

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jimmy Duncan (Incumbent)	196,894	74.4
	Democratic	Troy Goodale	54,522	20.6
	Green	Norris Dryer	5,733	2.2
	Libertarian	Greg Samples	4,382	1.7
	Independent	Brandon Stewart	2,974	1.1
Total votes			264,505	100
	Republican hold

District 3

See also: Tennessee's 3rd congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 3rd congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Chuck Fleischmann Mary Headrick Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 157,830 91,094 Percentage 61.5% 35.4%

Fleischmann:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

U.S. Representative before election Chuck Fleischmann Republican Elected U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann Republican

The redrawn 3rd district will represent Anderson, Hamilton, McMinn, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Roane, Scott, and Union counties, and parts of Bradley and Campbell counties. The most populous city in the district is Chattanooga. ^[3] Republican Chuck Fleischmann, who has represented the 3rd district since January 2011, ran for re-election. ^[6]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Chuck Fleischmann, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Ron Bhalla, businessman; ^[7]
• Scottie Mayfield, president of Mayfield Dairy; ^[8]
• Weston Wamp, founder of a public relations firm and son of former U.S. Representative Zach Wamp ^[6]

Withdrawn

• Jean Howard-Hill, former professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and candidate for this seat in 2008 and 2010 ^[9]

Declined

• J.B. Bennett, attorney ^[7]
• Savas Kyriakidis, businessman, Command Judge in the U.S. Army and independent candidate for this seat in 2010 ^[10]
• Robin Smith, health care consultant and former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party and candidate for this seat in 2010 ^[11]
• Tres Wittum, a policy and research analyst for state senator Bo Watson ^[12]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Fleischmann (incumbent)	29,947	39.1
	Republican	Scottie Mayfield	23,779	31.0
	Republican	Weston Wamp	21,997	28.7
	Republican	Ron Bhalla	926	1.2
Total votes			76,649	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Mary Headrick, emergency room and acute care physician ^[13]

Eliminated in primary

• Bill Taylor, businessman, ^[14]

Declined

• Brenda Freeman Short, candidate for this seat in 2010 ^[14]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Headrick	14,915	67.0
	Democratic	Bill Taylor	7,343	33.0
Total votes			22,258	100.0

Independents

Candidates

• Matthew Deniston, Army Veteran and former Ranger

Withdrawn

• Topher Kersting, web designer ^[15]

Declined

• Savas Kyriakidis, businessman, Command Judge in the U.S. Army and independent candidate for this seat in 2010

General election

Endorsements

Chuck Fleischmann (R)

Organizations

• American Conservative Union ^[16]

Results

Tennessee's 3rd congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Chuck Fleischmann (Incumbent)	157,830	61.5
	Democratic	Mary Headrick	91,094	35.4
	Independent	Matthew Deniston	7,905	3.1
Total votes			256,829	100
	Republican hold

District 4

See also: Tennessee's 4th congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 4th congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Scott DesJarlais Eric Stewart Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 128,568 102,022 Percentage 55.76% 44.24%

DesJarlais:     50–60%     60–70% Stewart     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Scott DesJarlais Republican Elected U.S. Representative Scott DesJarlais Republican

The redrawn 4th district represented Bedford, Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, Meigs, Moore, Rhea, Rutherford, Sequatchie, and Warren counties, and parts of Bradley, Maury, and Van Buren counties. The most populous city in the district was Murfreesboro, which had previously anchored the 6th District. ^[3]

Republican Scott DesJarlais who had represented the 4th district since January 2011. He ran for re-election and won.

Results by precinct

Republican primary

State senator Bill Ketron, a Murfreesboro resident, had been rumored to be considering a run for the 4th; he was chairman of the redistricting committee and reportedly drew Murfreesboro into the district to facilitate a run. However, on January 22, 2012, he announced he would not run. ^[17]

Candidates

Nominee

• Scott DesJarlais, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Shannon Kelley, pilot

Declined

• Bill Ketron, state senator
• Jim Tracy, state senator ^[18]

Primary results

DesJarlais won the Republican Party primary on August 2, 2012. ^{[19] [20]}

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott DesJarlais (Incumbent)	36,088	76.76%
	Republican	Shannon Kelley	10,927	23.24%
Total votes			47,015	100.00%

Democratic primary

State senator Eric Stewart announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination to challenge DesJarlais in late 2011. ^[21] The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made his candidacy their top priority in the South in early 2012. ^[22] Stewart won the Democratic party endorsement. ^[23]

Candidates

Nominee

• Eric Stewart, state senator

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Eric Stewart	17,378	100.00%
Total votes			17,378	100.00%

General election

Campaign

The general election was characterized by a series of controversies involving the incumbent. Stewart agreed to three debates, but DesJarlais told the media that he would not participate. ^{[23] [24]} The incumbent was "open to revisiting the question later in the campaign", accusing Stewart of "lack of clarity on the issues" as a reason to avoid debating him. ^{[23] [25]} Stewart responded that DesJarlais was avoiding the voters. ^{[23] [25]} The local media were critical of the congressman's stance on the debate issue: the Chattanoogan asked, "Why Won't Desjarlais Debate?" ^[26] and the Times Free Press called it "No good reason to avoid debates". ^[27]

In October 2012, DesJarlais silenced two Democratic representatives on the floor of Congress. ^[28] DesJarlais was Speaker of the House pro tempore, in a pro forma session to prevent "President Barack Obama from making recess appointments without congressional consent". ^[29] Stewart accused DesJarlais of neglecting the district's farmers by not passing the Farm Bill. ^[29]

The media reported in mid-October 2012 on DesJarlais divorce of his first wife, Susan, from 2001. ^[30] During their divorce proceedings, Susan DesJarlais alleged that her ex-husband engaged in "violent and threatening behavior". ^[31] Court filings revealed that he had an affair with a female patient, and pressured her to have an abortion after she became pregnant. ^{[32] [33] [34]} In response to the news, Stewart called him a "pro-life hypocrite", contending that "DesJarlais can't be trusted". ^{[33] [35]} The DesJarlais campaign did not challenge the truth of the allegations, but replied that "This is old news...." ^{[33] [35]} Stewart parried in a news conference that:

Congressman DesJarlais has ... continued to hold himself out to the public as someone who is pro-life and pro-family, and today doesn't deny that as a medical doctor he had an affair with a patient, got that patient pregnant and then begged and pleaded with her to terminate the pregnancy.

— Eric Stewart ^[35]

After all that, DesJarlais "lashed out at Stewart", ^[36] stating "there was no pregnancy, and no abortion", blaming his opponents and ex-wife for "dredging up details from his past". ^{[37] [38] [39] [40]}

After the primary elections, the race had been rated "Likely GOP" by RealClearPolitics. ^[41] By July 13 FEC filings, DesJarlais had raised twice as much as Stewart, and had "$591,976 in the bank to Stewart's $152,712". ^[42] Stewart's aim was to "blanket" the local airways with ads attacking his opponent's vote in favor of Paul Ryan's budget, while the incumbent would tie him to President Barack Obama, who is unpopular in the district. ^[42] As of October 7, The Tennessean noted that comparing "money and recent history, DesJarlais has the advantage", due to incumbency, raising twice the funds as Stewart, ^[42] and the GOP tilt of the district; however, "DesJarlais' edge is not as large as the ones held by his Republican peers in Tennessee, ... DesJarlais entered the election with low name recognition, and he cannot count on the wave of conservative voters that swept Republican candidates into Congress two years ago." ^[43] Both candidates were running as "outsiders". ^[43]

As of October 12, the Romney/Ryan campaign had removed DesJarlais's endorsement from their website as reported by the Associated Press. ^{[36] [38]} Local political analyst Pat Nolan said that, as of October 10, this probably would be in the news for only a few days, "but it may take longer than that for it to really sink in and for people to understand it". When it breaks and how much money they have to get their messages across are "key" for them. ^[44] By October 14, it had become the "State's most contentious U.S. House battle [that] has everyone talking". ^[45] As of October 13, analysts stated that Stewart still had an uphill battle finding enough voters to back him. ^[46]

On the eve of the election, November 5, the Associated Press called for Tennessee's 11 electoral votes to go to "Romney with ease." It also predicted an easy re-election for Senator Bob Corker. However, it noted "Tougher times for GOP Rep. Scott DesJarlais after revelations he once discussed abortion with mistress." ^[47]

Endorsements

Eric Stewart (D)

Statewide officials

• Phil Bredesen, former Governor of Tennessee ^[48]

Labor unions

• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers ^[49]

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[50]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Scott DesJarlais (R)	Eric Stewart (D)	Undecided
Public Opinion Strategies (R-DesJarlais) [51]	October 22–23, 2012	400	± 4.9%	49%	36%	15%
Myers Research/Strategic Services (D-Stewart) [52]	October 14–15, 2012	400	± 4.9%	49%	44%	7%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [53]	Tossup	November 5, 2012
Rothenberg [54]	Tilts R	November 2, 2012
Roll Call [55]	Lean R	November 4, 2012
Sabato's Crystal Ball [56]	Likely R	November 5, 2012
NY Times [57]	Safe R	November 4, 2012
RCP [58]	Lean R	November 4, 2012
The Hill [59]	Lean R	November 4, 2012

Results

DesJarlais won the election. ^[60]

Tennessee's 4th congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Scott DesJarlais (Incumbent)	128,568	55.76%
	Democratic	Eric Stewart	102,022	44.24%
Total votes			230,590	100.00%
	Republican hold

Aftermath

DailyKos noted that the race was one of the "few outliers" in 2012: "No Democratic challenger did quite so well in quite so red a district." Using regression analysis, Stewart's 44.24% tally was the second best of all Democratic candidates, compared to the 30.92% predicted share he would have gotten, all things being equal. ^[61]

External links

• Map of new District 4 on Govtrack.com

District 5

See also: Tennessee's 5th congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 5th congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Jim Cooper Brad Staats Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 171,621 86,240 Percentage 65.2% 32.8%

Cooper:     40–50%     60–70% Ball:     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Jim Cooper Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Jim Cooper Democratic

The redrawn 5th district will represent Davidson and Dickson counties, and most of Cheatham County. It is based around Nashville, all of which was restored to the district. Previously, a sliver of southwestern Nashville had been in the 7th District. ^[3] Democrat Jim Cooper has represented the 5th district since 2003, and previously represented the 4th district from 1983 until 1995.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Cooper, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Cooper (Incumbent)	28,110	100.0
Total votes			28,110	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Brad Staats, businessman and performing artist

Eliminated in primary

• Justin Jones
• Bob Ries, business owner
• John Smith, deputy sheriff
• Tracey Tarum, avionics technician

Declined

• Beth Harwell, speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives ^[62]

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brad Staats	5,462	26.4
	Republican	Bob Ries	5,422	26.2
	Republican	John Smith	4,200	20.3
	Republican	Justin Jones	3,381	16.4
	Republican	Tracey Tarum	2,212	10.7
Total votes			20,677	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Jim Cooper (D)

Labor unions

• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers ^[49]
• National Association of Letter Carriers ^[5]

Organizations

• Blue Dog Coalition ^[63]

Results

Tennessee's 5th congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jim Cooper (Incumbent)	171,621	65.2
	Republican	Brad Staats	86,240	32.8
	Green	John Miglietta	5,222	2.0
Total votes			263,083	100
	Democratic hold

District 6

See also: Tennessee's 6th congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 6th congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Diane Black Scott Beasley Pat Riley Party Republican Independent Green Popular vote 184,383 34,766 22,092 Percentage 76.4% 14.4% 9.2%

County results Black:     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. Representative before election Diane Black Republican Elected U.S. Representative Diane Black Republican

The redrawn 6th district will represent Cannon, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Jackson, Macon, Overton, Pickett, Putnam, Robertson, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, White, and Wilson counties, and small northern parts of Cheatham and Van Buren counties. The most populous city in the district is Cookeville. ^[3] Republican Diane Black who has represented the 6th district since January 2011 ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Diane Black, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Lou Ann Zelenik, business owner and candidate for this seat in 2010

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Diane Black (Incumbent)	44,949	69.4
	Republican	Lou Ann Zelenik	19,836	30.6
Total votes			64,785	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Diane Black (R)

Organizations

• Maggie's List ^[64]
• Susan B. Anthony List ^[65]

Results

Tennessee's 6th congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Diane Black (Incumbent)	184,383	76.4
	Independent	Scott Beasley	34,766	14.4
	Green	Pat Riley	22,092	9.2
Total votes			241,241	100.0
	Republican hold

District 7

See also: Tennessee's 7th congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 7th congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Marsha Blackburn Credo Amouzouvik Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 182,730 61,679 Percentage 71.0% 24.0%

County results Blackburn:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%

U.S. Representative before election Marsha Blackburn Republican Elected U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn Republican

The redrawn 7th district will represent Chester, Decatur, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lawrence, Lewis, McNairy, Montgomery, Perry, Stewart, Wayne, and Williamson counties, and parts of Benton and Maury counties. The most populous city in the district is Clarksville. ^[3] It is significantly more compact than its predecessor, which stretched for 200 miles from east to west but was only two miles wide in some areas of the eastern portion. Republican Marsha Blackburn who has represented the 7th district since 2003 ran for re-election.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Marsha Blackburn, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marsha Blackburn (Incumbent)	41,524	100.0
Total votes			41,524	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Credo Amouzouvik, founder and CEO of the Homeffa Foundation(a humanitarian organization for Togo) ^[66]

Withdrawn

• Chris Martin

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Credo Amouzouvik	10,436	100.0
Total votes			10,436	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Marsha Blackburn (R)

Organizations

• Susan B. Anthony List ^[65]

Results

Tennessee's 7th congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Marsha Blackburn (Incumbent)	182,730	71.0
	Democratic	Credo Amouzouvik	61,679	24.0
	Green	Howard Switzer	4,640	1.8
	Independent	Jack Arnold	4,256	1.7
	Independent	William Akin	2,740	1.1
	Independent	Lenny Ladner	1,261	0.5
Total votes			257,306	100
	Republican hold

District 8

See also: Tennessee's 8th congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 8th congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Stephen Fincher Timothy Dixon Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 190,923 79,490 Percentage 68.3% 28.4%

County results Fincher:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Dixon     50–60%

U.S. Representative before election Stephen Fincher Republican Elected U.S. Representative Stephen Fincher Republican

The redrawn 8th district will represent Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Haywood, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, Obion, Tipton, and Weakley counties, and parts of Benton and Shelby counties. The most populous city in the district is Jackson. ^[3] The new district is significantly more Republican than its predecessor; the legislature pushed it further into the heavily Republican Memphis suburbs. Republican Stephen Fincher, who has represented the 8th district since January 2011, ran for re-election. ^[67]

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Stephen Fincher, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Annette Justice

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stephen Fincher (Incumbent)	60,355	86.7
	Republican	Annette Justice	9,288	13.3
Total votes			69,643	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Timothy Dixon, auto industry manager

Eliminated in primary

• John Bradley
• Christa Stoscheck

Declined

• Roy Herron, state senator and nominee for this seat in 2010 ^[68]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Timothy Dixon	6,951	37.9
	Democratic	John Bradley	6,771	36.9
	Democratic	Christa Stoscheck	4,621	25.2
Total votes			18,343	100.0

General election

Results

Tennessee's 8th congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stephen Fincher (Incumbent)	190,923	68.3
	Democratic	Timothy Dixon	79,490	28.4
	Independent	James L. Hart	6,139	2.2
	Independent	Mark Rawles	2,870	1.1
Total votes			279,422	100
	Republican hold

By county

County [69]	Stephen Fincher Republican		Timothy Dixon Democratic		Other votes
	%	#	%	#	%	#
Benton	56.25%	18	37.50%	12	6.25%	2
Carroll	68.07%	6,888	28.32%	2,866	3.61%	365
Crockett	77.95%	3,981	19.82%	1,012	2.23%	114
Dyer	75.41%	9,545	21.69%	2,746	2.90%	367
Fayette	68.42%	11,344	28.46%	4,719	3.12%	517
Gibson	70.21%	12,121	26.48	4,572	3.30%	570
Haywood	45.72%	3,229	50.90%	3,595	3.38%	239
Henry	61.44%	6,874	29.51%	3,311	8.97%	1,004
Lake	56.77%	1,056	38.98%	725	4.25%	79
Lauderdale	61.72%	4,730	35.53%	2,723	2.75%	211
Madison	57.02%	21,644	39.49%	15,002	3.49%	1,326
Obion	68.48%	7,794	27.87%	3,172	3.65%	416
Shelby	72.81%	78,491	24.71%	26,634	2.49%	2,681
Tipton	72.52%	15,206	24.06%	5,044	3.42%	718
Weakley	68.00%	7,982	28.60%	3,357	3.41%	400

District 9

See also: Tennessee's 9th congressional district

2012 Tennessee's 9th congressional district election

←  2010 2014  →

Nominee Steve Cohen George Flinn Jr. Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 188,422 59,742 Percentage 75.1% 23.8%

County result Cohen:     70–80%

U.S. Representative before election Steve Cohen Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Steve Cohen Democratic

The redrawn 9th district will represent most of Shelby County, and is based around Memphis. ^[3] Democrat Steve Cohen, who has represented the 9th district since 2007, ran for re-election. ^[70]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Steve Cohen, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Tomeka Hart, Memphis City Schools board member ^{[70] [71]}

Withdrawn

• Thomas Long, Memphis City Court Clerk ^[71]

Primary results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Cohen (Incumbent)	49,585	89.3
	Democratic	Tomeka Hart	5,944	10.7
Total votes			55,529	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• George Flinn, radiologist, radio magnate and candidate for the 8th district in 2010 ^[72]

Eliminated in primary

• Charlotte Bergmann, business manager and nominee for this seat in 2010
• Ernest Lunati
• Rollin Stooksberry

Primary results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Flinn	11,748	63.9
	Republican	Charlotte Bergmann	4,398	23.9
	Republican	Rollin Stooksberry	1,858	10.1
	Republican	Ernest Lunati	368	2.0
Total votes			18,372	100.0

General election

Endorsements

Steve Cohen (D)

Labor unions

• International Brotherhood of Boilermakers ^[49]
• National Association of Letter Carriers ^[5]

Results

Tennessee's 9th congressional district, 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Cohen (Incumbent)	188,422	75.1
	Republican	George Flinn Jr.	59,742	23.8
	Independent	Gregory Joiner	1,372	0.5
	Independent	Brian Saulsberry	1,448	0.6
Total votes			250,984	100
	Democratic hold

See also

• 2012 Tennessee elections
• 2012 United States elections

References

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17. Stockard, Sam (January 23, 2012). "Ketron won't run for Congress". The Daily News Journal . Retrieved January 29, 2012.
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32. McAuliff, Michael (October 10, 2012). "Scott DesJarlais, Pro-Life Republican Congressman And Doctor, Pressured Mistress Patient To Get Abortion". huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
33. Shelzig, Erik (October 10, 2012). "Transcript: Rep. DesJarlais urged abortion". Associated Press, via Yahoo News. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
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48. Sher, Andy (September 28, 2012). "Phil Bredesen backs Eric Stewart in 4th District". Times Free Press. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
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72. Baker, Jackson (February 24, 2012). "George Flinn Mulling Over 9th District Race (that's right, 9th!)". Memphis Flyer . Retrieved February 29, 2012.

External links

• Elections at the Tennessee Secretary of State
• United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee, 2012 at Ballotpedia
• Tennessee U.S. House from OurCampaigns.com
• Campaign contributions for U.S. Congressional races in Tennessee from OpenSecrets
• Outside spending at the Sunlight Foundation

Official campaign websites District 1 Phil Roe campaign website Alan Woodruff campaign website District 3 Ron Bhalla campaign website Chuck Fleischmann campaign website Mary Headrick campaign website Jean Howard-Hill campaign website Scottie Mayfield campaign website Bill Taylor campaign website Weston Wamp campaign website District 4 Scott DesJarlais campaign website Eric Stewart campaign website District 7 Credo Amouzouvik campaign website Howard Switzer campaign website District 8 Stephen Fincher campaign website District 9 Charlotte Bergmann campaign website Steve Cohen campaign website George Flinn campaign website