Tenn. Congressional Democrats Majority Jeopardized

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - State Sen. Diane Black's 6th District victory Tuesday has put Republicans closer to taking control of Tennessee's congressional delegation for the first time in nearly a decade.

With 26 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, Black had 43,678 votes, or 67 percent of the vote, to Brett Carter's 18,820, or 29 percent.

The state's congressional delegation, currently five Democrats and four Republicans, was poised to tip to the GOP for the first time since Congressman Lincoln Davis was elected in 2002.

The 6th District race was among at least three expected to turn as Republicans tried to gain control of the U.S. House.

Early figures Tuesday night showed Republican Stephen Fincher leading Democratic state Sen. Roy Herron in the 8th District, and Republican Dr. Scott DesJarlais was ahead of Democratic incumbent Lincoln Davis in the 4th District race.

In the 6th, Black, a registered nurse, made headlines before the August primary when campaign ads by one of her opponents alleged a drug testing company owned by her husband received $1 million in state contracts. A defamation lawsuit was brought by the company and is currently in mediation.

Despite the negative publicity, indicators pointed to Black as a likely favorite to win the race in the suburbs east of Nashville. One was her distinct money edge over Carter and the fact that the district has been trending Republican since incumbent Rep. Bart Gordon first won it in 1984.

Gordon enjoyed easy victories in the mostly Democratic district in the early 1990s, as did former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore in 1992. Gore once represented the district.

But the district started to trend Republican, with former President George Bush carrying the district in 2000 and 2004 as did presidential candidate John McCain in 2008.

Retiree Oma Applegate, 56, acknowledged that Carter doesn't have much political experience, "but I want to give him a chance."

In the 8th, Herron has criticized Fincher for loaning his own campaign $250,000 but listing no major assets on his congressional candidate disclosure forms. Fincher has said he's filled out all the documents "in good faith," and that Herron is desperately attacking him because he's behind in polls.

They are seeking the seat being vacated by 11-term Democrat John Tanner, who is retiring.

Bob Tremper, a 56-year-old independent voter, leaned toward Fincher early on, but said he chose Herron because he did not approve of Fincher's refusal to debate and release more financial information.

"That vote was not a vote for (Herron), it was a vote against Fincher," said Tremper, an operations manager at an aluminum processing plant.

In the 4th, Davis' campaign publicized old divorce filings of Davis' GOP challenger.

An ad cited several items in the records, including efforts by DesJarlais to reduce child support and allegations that he once held a gun in his mouth for three hours and that he repeatedly pulled the trigger of an unloaded gun outside his former wife's bedroom door.

Retired welder Roy Cheaves said the ad was "just not right" and that it didn't influence his vote.

"When you get in a divorce there are hard feelings," said the 84-year-old. "I didn't get into that."

Other congressional incumbents from Tennessee faced nominal challenges.

In early results Tuesday night, freshman Republican Rep. Phil Roe of the 1st District beat Democrat Mike Clark, and Republican Rep. Jimmy Duncan of Knoxville defeated Democratic challenger David Hancock in the 2nd District.

Tennessee's third open seat, the 3rd District, stayed in Republican hands with Chattanooga attorney Chuck Fleischmann beating Democrat John Wolfe. The seat was vacated by Zach Wamp to run for governor.

Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper beat Republican David Hall in the 5th. Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn defeated Greg Rabidoux in the 7th and Rep. Steve Cohen was opposed by Memphis businesswoman Charlotte Bergmann in the 9th.