A Blue Dog's retirement has made Tennessee's 8th District the site of one of the most competitive U.S. House races in the country in 2010.
The 8th is a collection of small towns in western Tennessee, ranging all the way from southern Clarksville to suburbs just north of Memphis in Shelby County. The largest city in the 8th is Jackson, which weighs in at less than 60,000 people. Since before the Civil War, this northwestern slice of Tennessee has favored the Democratic Party. This preference was first challenged in the 1960s and 1970s when, turned off by the cultural liberalism of national Democrats, this area voted Republican in Presidential elections. The area returned briefly to the Democrats in the 1980s and 1990s, but the 8th voted for George W. Bush 53%-47% in 2004 and voted even more strongly for John McCain 56%-43% in 2008.
For the last 22 years, the 8th has been represented by influential Blue Dog Democrat John Tanner. Tanner has weathered all sorts of political environments with ease, never winning with less than 62% of the vote in a district that is very competitive in national and state elections. Tanner has been central in crafting many important pieces of legislation throughout his tenure, from the 1996 welfare reform proposal signed into law by President Clinton to legislation encouraging offshore oil drilling. His voting record often placed him near the center of the House.
In December 2009. Tanner, already facing a competitive re-election challenge from Republican Stephen Fincher, announced that he was retiring at the end of his current term rather than seeking a 12th term in the House. Tanner would have been favored to hold this seat, but his retirement made the seat a major GOP target.
With Tanner out of the race, the Republican primary suddenly got crowded with four new candidates joining Fincher on the ballot. Jackson County physician Ron Kirkland and Shelby County Commissioner George Flinn emerged as Fincher's main primary rivals. In the end, Fincher's head start and outsider status led to a comfortable victory in the August GOP primary. Kirkland and Flinn received approximately 17,000 each; Fincher doubled them up, racking up over 35,000 votes.
Fincher, a family farmer and gospel singer from Frog Jump in Crockett County is making his first foray into politics. His early fundraising totals raised eyebrows and put this race on the map even before Tanner's retirement announcement. Fincher has based his campaign around the themes of faith and family as well as stressing his willingness to take on the Washington establishment.
Two Democrats filed to run for the right to succeed the popular Tanner. The eventual Democratic nominee was State Senator Roy Herron. Herron is well known in parts of the 8th as he has represented parts of the district in the Tennessee legislature since 1986, first in the Tennessee House and for the last 13 years in the Tennessee Senate. Herron is the type of moderate-to-conservative Democrat that has represented the 8th for most of its history. Herron, the author of a book titled God and Politics: How Can a Christian be in Politics?, touts his pro-gun, pro-family, pro-faith, and anti-government spending stances.
Both Fincher and Herron have raised well over $1 million already, but Herron has a cash on hand advantage due to his not having to spend as much to secure his party's nomination. Both parties are expected to invest in advertising in this relatively inexpensive district. The candidates have many similarities, but Herron will have to work against the anti-Obama, anti-Pelosi mood of most 8th district voters if he is to keep this seat in Democratic hands.
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