Tennessee's 6th congressional district

The 6th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in Middle Tennessee. 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 Highland Rim, and the Central Basin. The area is known for its waterfalls, such as Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls. Much of the western part of the district is located in the Nashville metropolitan area, along with a portion of Nashville itself.

As of the 2022 redistricting cycle, the largest cities in the district are Hendersonville, Gallatin, Cookeville, and the eastern portions of Lebanon and Nashville.

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:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST47/CD118_TN06.pdf

Cannon County (2)

Auburntown, Woodbury

Clay County (1)

Celina

Cumberland County (7)

All 7 communities

Davidson County (3)

Goodlettsville (shared with Sumner County), Nashville (part; also 5th and 7th), Ridgetop (part; also 7th; 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

Pickett County (1)

Byrdstown

Putnam County (4)

All 4 communities

Scott County (4)

Helenwood, Huntsville, Oneida, 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 5th), Lebanon (part; also 5th), Mount Juliet (part; also 5th), Statesville, Tuckers Crossroads, Watertown

White County (3)

All 3 communities

Van Buren County (1)

Spencer

Recent election results from statewide races Year Office Results2008 PresidentMcCain 58% - 40%2012 PresidentRomney 62% - 38%2016 PresidentTrump 64% - 32%2018 SenateBlackburn 55% - 44% GovernorLee 59% - 39%2020 PresidentTrump 64% - 34% SenateHagerty 65% - 33%2022 GovernorLee 66% - 32%2024 PresidentTrump 67% - 32% SenateBlackburn 66% - 32%

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. of Carthage. Gore was elected to the United States Senate in 1952, where he was instrumental in creating the Interstate Highway system.

From 1953 to 1977, the area was represented by Joe L. Evins of Smithville. Evins's nephew, Dan Evins, was the founder of Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant/retail chain. Cracker Barrel's headquarters are still located in Lebanon.

In 1976, Evins was succeeded by Al Gore, 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 United States Senate. He was then succeeded by former Tennessee Democratic Party chairman Bart Gordon of Murfreesboro. 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 ran against him. Gordon defeated Gill by only one percentage point.

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 in 1992, partly due to the presence of Al Gore, 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 consistently won re-election 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.

Diane Black 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. The 2010 redistricting made the district even more Republican, even as its longtime anchor of Murfreesboro was drawn into the neighboring 4th District. From 2012-2020, no Democrat had won any county within the district in any presidential, gubernatorial, senate, or congressional election. However, in 2022 the district was redrawn as part of the statewide redistricting process, which split Nashville–a Democratic stronghold—among two other Republican‑leaning districts. While this added a portion of eastern Nashville into the district, the overall partisanship remained strongly Republican.

List of members representing the district Member Party Years Congress Electoral history District location District established March 4, 1813 Parry W. Humphreys Democratic-Republican March 4, 1813 –March 3, 1815 Elected in 1813.Retired. 1813–1823 James B. Reynolds Democratic-Republican March 4, 1815 –March 3, 1817 Elected in 1815.Lost re-election. George W. L. Marr Democratic-Republican March 4, 1817 –March 3, 1819 Elected in 1817.Lost renomination. Henry H. Bryan Democratic-Republican March 4, 1819 –March 3, 1821 Elected in 1819.Re-elected in 1821 but failed to qualify. Vacant March 4, 1821 –March 3, 1823 James T. Sandford Democratic-Republican March 4, 1823 –March 3, 1825 Elected in 1823.Lost re-election. 1823–1833 James K. Polk Jacksonian March 4, 1825 –March 3, 1833 Elected in 1825.Re-elected in 1827.Re-elected in 1829.Re-elected in 1831.Redistricted to the . Balie Peyton Jacksonian March 4, 1833 –March 3, 1835 Elected in 1833.Re-elected in 1835.Retired. 1833–1843 Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1835 –March 3, 1837 William B. Campbell Whig March 4, 1837 –March 3, 1843 Elected in 1837.Re-elected in 1839.Re-elected in 1841.Retired. Aaron V. Brown Democratic March 4, 1843 –March 3, 1845 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1843.Retired to run for Governor of Tennessee. 1843–1853 Barclay Martin Democratic March 4, 1845 –March 3, 1847 Elected in 1845.Retired. James H. Thomas Democratic March 4, 1847 –March 3, 1851 Elected in 1847.Re-elected in 1849.Lost re-election. William H. Polk Independent Democratic March 4, 1851 –March 3, 1853 Elected in 1851.Retired. George W. Jones Democratic March 4, 1853 –March 3, 1859 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1853.Re-elected in 1855.Re-elected in 1857.Retired. 1853–1861 James H. Thomas Democratic March 4, 1859 –March 3, 1861 Elected in 1859.Retired. District inactive March 4, 1861 –July 24, 1866 Civil War and Reconstruction Samuel M. Arnell Union July 24, 1866 –March 3, 1867 Elected in 1865.Re-elected in 1867.Re-elected in 1868.Retired. 1866–1873 Republican March 4, 1867 –March 3, 1871 Washington C. Whitthorne Democratic March 4, 1871 –March 3, 1875 Elected in 1870.Re-elected in 1872.Redistricted to the . 1873–1883 John F. House Democratic March 4, 1875 –March 3, 1883 Elected in 1874.Re-elected in 1876.Re-elected in 1878.Re-elected in 1880.Retired. Andrew J. Caldwell Democratic March 4, 1883 –March 3, 1887 Elected in 1882.Re-elected in 1884.Retired. 1883–1893 Joseph E. Washington Democratic March 4, 1887 –March 3, 1897 Elected in 1886.Re-elected in 1888.Re-elected in 1890.Re-elected in 1892.Re-elected in 1894.Retired. 1893–1903 John W. Gaines Democratic March 4, 1897 –March 3, 1909 Elected in 1896.Re-elected in 1898.Re-elected in 1900.Re-elected in 1902.Re-elected in 1904.Re-elected in 1906.Lost renomination. 1903–1913 Jo Byrns Democratic March 4, 1909 –March 3, 1933 Elected in 1908.Re-elected in 1910.Re-elected in 1912.Re-elected in 1914.Re-elected in 1916.Re-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.Redistricted to the . 1913–1923 1923–1933 Clarence W. Turner Democratic March 4, 1933 –March 23, 1939 Elected in 1932.Re-elected in 1934.Re-elected in 1936.Re-elected in 1938.Died. 1933–1943 Vacant March 23, 1939 –May 11, 1939 W. Wirt Courtney Democratic May 11, 1939 –January 3, 1943 Elected to finish Turner's term.Re-elected in 1940.Redistricted to the . Percy Priest Democratic January 3, 1943 –January 3, 1953 Elected in 1942.Re-elected in 1944.Re-elected in 1946.Re-elected in 1948.Re-elected in 1950.Redistricted to the . 1943–1953 James P. Sutton Democratic January 3, 1953 –January 3, 1955 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1952.Retired to run for U.S. senator. 1953–1963 Ross Bass Democratic January 3, 1955 –November 3, 1964 Elected in 1954.Re-elected in 1956.Re-elected in 1958.Re-elected in 1960.Re-elected in 1962.Retired to run for U.S. senator and resigned when elected. 1963–1973 Vacant November 3, 1964 –January 3, 1965 William R. Anderson Democratic January 3, 1965 –January 3, 1973 Elected in 1964.Re-elected in 1966.Re-elected in 1968.Re-elected in 1970.Lost re-election. Robin Beard Republican January 3, 1973 –January 3, 1983 Elected in 1972.Re-elected in 1974.Re-elected in 1976.Re-elected in 1978.Re-elected in 1980.Retired to run for U.S. senator. 1973–1983 Al Gore Democratic January 3, 1983 –January 3, 1985 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1982.Retired to run for U.S. senator. 1983–1993 Bart Gordon Democratic January 3, 1985 –January 3, 2011 Elected in 1984.Re-elected in 1986.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.Re-elected in 2002.Re-elected in 2004.Re-elected in 2006.Re-elected in 2008.Retired. 1993–2003 2003–2013 Diane Black Republican January 3, 2011 –January 3, 2019 Elected in 2010.Re-elected in 2012.Re-elected in 2014.Re-elected in 2016.Retired to run for governor of Tennessee. 2013–2023 John Rose Republican January 3, 2019 –present Elected in 2018.Re-elected in 2020.Re-elected in 2022.Re-elected in 2024.Retiring to run for governor of Tennessee. 2023–2027

Tennessee's 6th congressional district

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