 Incumbent Republican Congressman Bill Jenkins, approaching his seventieth birthday, declined to seek a sixth term in order to spend more time with his family, creating an open seat.This staunchly conservative district, based in northeastern Tennessee, has been held by Republicans since 1881, one of the longest streaks out of any district nationwide.Republican State Representative David Davis won a narrow victory in the Republican primary and moved on to the general election, where he defeated Democratic candidate Rick Trent, a real estate businessman, and several independent candidates by a solid, but smaller margin than is normally seen in this district.