Tennessee's 9th congressional district
Tennessee's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in West Tennessee. It has been represented by Democrat Steve Cohen since 2007.
Tennessee's 9th congressional district | |||
---|---|---|---|
Tennessee's 9th congressional district since January 3, 2013 | |||
Representative |
| ||
Distribution |
| ||
Population (2019) | 700,497[2] | ||
Median household income | $43,708[3] | ||
Ethnicity |
| ||
Cook PVI | D+28[4] |
Current Boundaries
The district is located entirely within Shelby County, where the city of Memphis is located.
It begins north on the border with Tipton County and encompasses most of Millington. It then travels south to the district's anchor city of Memphis. Nearly all of Memphis is in the 9th, although some of its city limits spill over into the 8th. The district then juts out east to capture Cordova, but mostly avoids Bartlett and Germantown.
The district is bounded on the west and south by Arkansas and Mississippi respectively.
Characteristics
The district is almost exclusively urban, due to its mostly cohabitant nature with Memphis.
Memphis is recognized worldwide for being the hub for FedEx. Largely due to FedEx's presence, Memphis International Airport boasts handles more cargo than any other airport in the country. Memphis is also known for blues music, Beale Street, and barbecue.
It is the only majority minority congressional district in Tennessee.
Politically speaking, it is considered a very safe area for Democrats. Since 1875, the area has sent mostly Democrats to Congress with the exception of a brief period from 1967 to 1974 when it was represented by Republican Dan Kuykendall.
Election results from presidential races
Year | Office | Result |
---|---|---|
2000 | President | Al Gore 63% - George W. Bush 36% |
2004 | President | John Kerry 70% - George W. Bush 30% |
2008 | President | Barack Obama 77% - John McCain 22.5% |
2012 | President | Barack Obama 78.4% - Mitt Romney 21% |
2016 | President | Hillary Clinton 77.5% - Donald Trump 19.8% |
2020 | President | Joe Biden 78.5% - Donald Trump 19.9% |
History
Arguably, the district's current characteristics began to take shape in 1925- the first year a congressional district consisted exclusively of Shelby County.
A congressional district was perfectly coextensive with Shelby County from 1925 until 1966, when the Supreme Court case Baker v. Carr took effect. In that ruling, the court laid out a "one man, one vote" standard. Prior to 1966, the 9th was nearly ten times larger in population than the nearby 7th and 8th.
1967 was the first year where the district was merely a fraction of Shelby County rather than the county's entirety. In that election, the district chose former US Senate Republican nominee Dan Kuykendall.
In 1974, in the midst of Watergate, Kuykendall supported Nixon throughout the scandal. He was subsequently defeated in election by Democrat Harold Ford Sr., whose family had strong political ties in Memphis dating back to at least the 1920s.
The district has swung Democrat in every congressional race since 1974.
Ford served in Congress for 22 years, when he was replaced by his son - Harold Ford, Jr. - in 1997. The younger Ford served for ten years, until he mounted an unsuccessful bid for US Senate.
Concurrent to Ford's senate bid, the district chose state senator Steve Cohen over Ford's brother Jake.[5] Cohen is noted for being Tennessee's first Jewish congressman. Cohen has been elected seven times for a little over fourteen years in Congress.
List of members representing the district
Name | Party | Years | Cong ress |
Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
District created March 4, 1823 | ||||
Adam R. Alexander | Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 |
18th 19th |
Elected in 1823. Re-elected in 1825. [data unknown/missing] |
Jacksonian | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 | |||
Davy Crockett |
Jacksonian | March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829 |
20th 21st |
Elected in 1827. Re-elected in 1829. [data unknown/missing] |
Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831 | |||
William Fitzgerald | Jacksonian | March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 |
22nd | [data unknown/missing] |
James K. Polk |
Jacksonian | March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837 |
23rd 24th 25th |
Redistricted from the 6th district. [data unknown/missing] |
Democratic | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839 | |||
Harvey M. Watterson | Democratic | March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 |
26th 27th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Cave Johnson |
Democratic | March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845 |
28th | Redistricted from the 11th district. [data unknown/missing] |
Lucien B. Chase | Democratic | March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1849 |
29th 30th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Isham G. Harris |
Democratic | March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853 |
31st 32nd |
[data unknown/missing] |
Emerson Etheridge |
Whig | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 |
33rd 34th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Know Nothing | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857 |
[data unknown/missing] | ||
John D. C. Atkins |
Democratic | March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859 |
35th | [data unknown/missing] |
Emerson Etheridge |
Opposition | March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 |
36th | [data unknown/missing] Retired. |
Vacant | March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863 |
37th | American Civil War: No members elected | |
District eliminated March 4, 1863 | ||||
District re-established March 4, 1873 | ||||
Barbour Lewis |
Republican | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875 |
43rd | [data unknown/missing] |
William P. Caldwell |
Democratic | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879 |
44th 45th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Charles B. Simonton |
Democratic | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883 |
46th 47th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Rice A. Pierce |
Democratic | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885 |
48th | [data unknown/missing] |
Presley T. Glass |
Democratic | March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889 |
49th 50th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Rice A. Pierce |
Democratic | March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893 |
51st 52nd |
[data unknown/missing] |
James C. McDearmon |
Democratic | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897 |
53rd 54th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Rice A. Pierce |
Democratic | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1905 |
55th 56th 57th 58th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Finis J. Garrett |
Democratic | March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1929 |
59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Jere Cooper |
Democratic | March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933 |
71st 72nd |
[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 8th district. |
E.H. Crump |
Democratic | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 |
73rd | Redistricted from the 10th district. [data unknown/missing] |
Clift Chandler |
Democratic | January 3, 1935 – January 2, 1940 |
74th 75th 76th |
[data unknown/missing] Resigned when elected Mayor of Memphis |
Clifford Davis |
Democratic | February 14, 1940 – January 3, 1943 |
76th 77th |
[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 10th district. |
Jere Cooper |
Democratic | January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1953 |
78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd |
Redistricted from the 8th district. Redistricted to the 8th district. |
Clifford Davis |
Democratic | January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1965 |
83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th |
Redistricted from the 10th district. [data unknown/missing] |
George Grider |
Democratic | January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967 |
89th | [data unknown/missing] |
Dan Kuykendall |
Republican | January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1973 |
90th 91st 92nd |
[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 8th district. |
District eliminated January 3, 1973 | ||||
District re-established January 3, 1983 | ||||
Harold E. Ford |
Democratic | January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1997 |
98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th |
Redistricted from the 8th district. [data unknown/missing] |
Harold E. Ford Jr. |
Democratic | January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2007 |
105th 106th 107th 108th 109th |
[data unknown/missing] |
Steve Cohen |
Democratic | January 3, 2007 – present |
110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th |
Elected in 2006. |
Historical district boundaries
References
- Geography, US Census Bureau. "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov.
- Bureau, Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
- https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=47&cd=09
- "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
- http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/pages/results/states/TN/H/09/index.html
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present