| Tennessee's 7th congressional district | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 | |
| Representative | Vacant |
| Population (2024) | 816,216[2] |
| Median household income | $79,222[3] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | R+10[4] |
The7th congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district located in parts ofMiddle andWest Tennessee. It was last represented by RepublicanMark Green, who resigned on July 20, 2025, for a job in the private sector after the passage of theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act.[5] The 7th district has significanturban,suburban, andrural areas. Although most of the area is rural, more than half of the district's votes are cast in eitherDavidson County (Nashville),Montgomery County (Clarksville), orWilliamson County (Franklin).
By most measures, Williamson County is the wealthiest county in the state and is usually ranked near the top nationally.[6]
The district has a very strong military presence, as it includes Tennessee's share ofFort Campbell. Politically speaking, the area was secessionist and part of the Democrats' "Solid South" for a century afterthe Civil War. But the Highland Rim ofWayne County was strongly Unionist during the war and voted Republican afterwards.
Starting with the election ofDon Sundquist in 1983, conservative whites have switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.
This district has become one of the most Republican areas in Tennessee. Nashville's suburbs have been similar politically to those of most affluent suburban districts in much of the South until the mid-2000s. It has a strongsocial conservative bent; many of the state's most politically active churches are either located here or draw most of their congregations from here.
The former secessionist counties that are rural are similar demographically to the8th district. Their voters supported Democratic candidates until the 2000s; three of the five Tennessee counties won byGeorge McGovern lie within this district.
However, since the mid-2000s, these counties have turned overwhelmingly Republican in all elections. Today, the only Democratic stronghold in the district is part of Nashville. This was added to the district during the2020 redistricting cycle. The city of Clarksville is the most competitive part of the district.
Districts stretching from Clarksville to West Tennessee have existed in one form or another since 1871. For most of the time, from 1933 to 1983 (except for 1943 to 1953), it was numbered as the 6th district.
This district assumed something approaching its current configuration in 1973, when Tennessee lost a congressional district. At that time, the 6th was redrawn to stretch fromWilliamson County, south of Nashville, to the eastern suburbs ofMemphis and covering the rural areas in between. RepublicanRobin Beard represented this area from 1973 to 1983.
Tennessee gained a congressional district following the 1980 census. At this time, the district was re-numbered as the 7th and lost its eastern counties to the4th and6th districts. At the same time, most of its black residents closer to Memphis were drawn into the9th district. Following this re-districting, Beard made anunsuccessful U.S. Senate bid, and was replaced by formerShelby County Republican Party chairDon Sundquist.
Sundquist served through the rest of the 1980s through the 1990 re-districting, which saw the district lose some of its rural counties while picking upMaury County. In 1994, Sundquistsuccessfully ran for Governor of Tennessee, defeating future governorPhil Bredesen. Sundquist was then replaced byEd Bryant. Bryant served from 1995 until 2002, when the district was gerrymandered by the Democrat-led Tennessee General Assembly to pack the consistently Republican suburbs of Nashville and Memphis into one district. The result was a district that was 200 miles (320 km) long, but only two miles (3.2 km) wide at some points in the Middle Tennessee portion (roughly the width of a highway lane). Following that re-districting, the area choseBrentwood-based state senatorMarsha Blackburn. She served from 2003 to 2019.
Redistricting after the 2010 census made the district somewhat more compact, restoring a configuration similar to the 1983-2003 lines. However, it lost its share of the Memphis suburbs to the 8th, a move which made the 8th as heavily Republican as the 7th. In 2018, Blackburnsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate, defeating former governorPhil Bredesen. In the concurrent election, the district selected doctor and former state senatorMark E. Green.
Redistricting after the 2020 census made the district somewhat less Republican. This was because Tennessee's legislaturecracked heavily Democratic Nashville between congressional districts to boost Republican support in the5th district. The 7th district picked up the western portion of Nashville while it lost some rural counties to the8th district.[7][8]
Despite the dramatic changes to the district's boundaries, the district is still considered safe Republican, with aCook PVI of R+10.[9]
The district is located in bothWest andMiddle Tennessee. It stretches as far north as theKentucky border, as far south as theAlabama border, as far east asFranklin, and as far west asCamden. For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), it contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:[10]
BentonCounty(4)
PerryCounty(2)
RobertsonCounty(11)
WayneCounty(3)
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marsha Blackburn (Incumbent) | 182,730 | 71.0 | ||
| Democratic | Credo Amouzouvik | 61,679 | 24.0 | ||
| Green | Howard Switzer | 4,640 | 1.8 | ||
| Independent | Jack Arnold | 4,256 | 1.7 | ||
| Independent | William Akin | 2,740 | 1.1 | ||
| Independent | Lenny Ladner | 1,261 | 0.5 | ||
| Total votes | 257,306 | 100 | |||
| Republicanhold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marsha Blackburn (incumbent) | 110,534 | 70.0 | |
| Democratic | Daniel Cramer | 42,280 | 26.8 | |
| Independent | Leonard D. Ladner | 5,093 | 3.2 | |
| Total votes | 157,907 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Marsha Blackburn (incumbent) | 200,407 | 72.2 | |
| Democratic | Tharon Chandler | 65,226 | 23.5 | |
| Independent | Leonard D. Ladner | 11,880 | 4.3 | |
| Total votes | 277,513 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Green | 170,071 | 66.9 | |
| Democratic | Justin Kanew | 81,661 | 32.1 | |
| Independent | Leonard Ladner | 1,582 | 0.6 | |
| Independent | Brent Legendre | 1,070 | 0.4 | |
| Total votes | 254,384 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Green (incumbent) | 245,188 | 69.9 | |
| Democratic | Kiran Sreepada | 95,839 | 27.3 | |
| Independent | Ronald Brown | 7,603 | 2.2 | |
| Independent | Scott Vieira | 2,005 | 0.6 | |
| Total votes | 350,635 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Green (incumbent) | 108,421 | 59.96% | |
| Democratic | Odessa Kelly | 68,973 | 38.14% | |
| Independent | Steven J. Hooper | 3,428 | 1.90% | |
| Total votes | 180,822 | 100.00% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Green (incumbent) | 191,992 | 59.50% | |
| Democratic | Megan Barry | 122,764 | 38.05% | |
| Independent | Shaun Greene | 7,900 | 2.45% | |
| Total votes | 322,656 | 100.00% | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Year | Office | Results[11] |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | President | McCain 50% - 48% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 55% - 45% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 56% - 39% |
| 2018 | Senate | Blackburn 50% - 49% |
| Governor | Lee 54% - 43% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 56% - 41% |
| Senate | Hagerty 58% - 39% | |
| 2022 | Governor | Lee 60% - 38% |
| 2024 | President | Trump 60% - 38% |
| Senate | Blackburn 60% - 38% |
35°38′02″N87°49′59″W / 35.63389°N 87.83306°W /35.63389; -87.83306
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