# 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Tennessee

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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.
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

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. Republican Phil Roe, who has represented the 1st district since 2009, ran for re-election.

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Phil Roe, incumbent U.S. Representative

#### Primary results

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

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Alan Woodruff, attorney

#### Primary results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Alan Woodruff | 5,687 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,687 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Endorsements

Labor unions
* National Association of Letter Carriers

#### Results

Tennessee's 1st congressional district, 2012 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 239,672 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## District 2

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

### General election
#### Results

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district, 2012 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 264,505 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## District 3

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. Republican Chuck Fleischmann, who has represented the 3rd district since January 2011, ran for re-election.

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Chuck Fleischmann, incumbent U.S. Representative

##### Eliminated in primary

* Ron Bhalla, businessman;
* Scottie Mayfield, president of Mayfield Dairy;
* Weston Wamp, founder of a public relations firm and son of former U.S. Representative Zach Wamp

##### Withdrawn

* Jean Howard-Hill, former professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and candidate for this seat in 2008 and 2010

##### Declined

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

#### Primary results

Republican primary results :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 76,649 | 100.0 |

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Mary Headrick, emergency room and acute care physician

##### Eliminated in primary

* Bill Taylor, businessman,

##### Declined

* Brenda Freeman Short, candidate for this seat in 2010

#### Primary results

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

### Independents
#### Candidates

* Matthew Deniston, Army Veteran and former Ranger

##### Withdrawn

* Topher Kersting, web designer

##### Declined

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

### General election
#### Endorsements

Organizations
* American Conservative Union

#### Results

Tennessee's 3rd congressional district, 2012 :
| Party | 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 | Total votes | Total votes | 256,829 | 100 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |

## District 4

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

### 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.

#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Scott DesJarlais, incumbent U.S. Representative

##### Eliminated in primary

* Shannon Kelley, pilot

##### Declined

* Bill Ketron, state senator
* Jim Tracy, state senator

#### Primary results

DesJarlais won the Republican Party primary on August 2, 2012.
Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Scott DesJarlais (Incumbent) | 36,088 | 76.76% |
| | Republican | Shannon Kelley | 10,927 | 23.24% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 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. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee made his candidacy their top priority in the South in early 2012. Stewart won the Democratic party endorsement.

#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Eric Stewart, state senator

#### Primary results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Eric Stewart | 17,378 | 100.00% |
| Total votes | Total votes | 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. 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. Stewart responded that DesJarlais was avoiding the voters. The local media were critical of the congressman's stance on the debate issue: the Chattanoogan asked, "Why Won't Desjarlais Debate?" and the Times Free Press called it "No good reason to avoid debates".
In October 2012, DesJarlais silenced two Democratic representatives on the floor of Congress. 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". Stewart accused DesJarlais of neglecting the district's farmers by not passing the Farm Bill.
The media reported in mid-October 2012 on DesJarlais divorce of his first wife, Susan, from 2001. During their divorce proceedings, Susan DesJarlais alleged that her ex-husband engaged in "violent and threatening behavior". Court filings revealed that he had an affair with a female patient, and pressured her to have an abortion after she became pregnant. In response to the news, Stewart called him a "pro-life hypocrite", contending that "DesJarlais can't be trusted". The DesJarlais campaign did not challenge the truth of the allegations, but replied that "This is old news...." 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.
After all that, DesJarlais "lashed out at Stewart", stating "there was no pregnancy, and no abortion", blaming his opponents and ex-wife for "dredging up details from his past".
After the primary elections, the race had been rated "Likely GOP" by RealClearPolitics. 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". 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. 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, 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." Both candidates were running as "outsiders".
As of October 12, the Romney/Ryan campaign had removed DesJarlais's endorsement from their website as reported by the Associated Press. 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. By October 14, it had become the "State's most contentious U.S. House battle [that] has everyone talking". As of October 13, analysts stated that Stewart still had an uphill battle finding enough voters to back him.
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."

#### Endorsements

Statewide officials
* Phil Bredesen, former Governor of Tennessee
Labor unions
* International Brotherhood of Boilermakers
Organizations
* Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program

#### Polling

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

#### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | November 5, 2012 |
| Rothenberg | Tilts R | November 2, 2012 |
| Roll Call | Lean R | November 4, 2012 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Likely R | November 5, 2012 |
| NY Times | Safe R | November 4, 2012 |
| RCP | Lean R | November 4, 2012 |
| The Hill | Lean R | November 4, 2012 |

#### Results

DesJarlais won the election.
Tennessee's 4th congressional district, 2012 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Scott DesJarlais (Incumbent) | 128,568 | 55.76% |
| | Democratic | Eric Stewart | 102,022 | 44.24% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 230,590 | 100.00% |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | 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.