David Phillip Roe is an American politician and physician who is the U.S. Representative for, serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in the Tri-Cities area in the northeastern portion of the state. In 2017, Roe became chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Roe announced in January 2020 that he will not run for re-election in 2020.
Roe was first elected to the Johnson City Commission in 2003, serving as vice mayor of Johnson City from 2003–2007 and then as mayor from 2007 to 2009.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
;2008 Roe defeated incumbent congressman David Davis in the 2008 primary by 500 votes. Davis blamed his loss on votes from Democrats who crossed over to vote for Roe in the open primary. Roe had previously run for the seat in 2006 when 10-year incumbent Bill Jenkins announced his retirement, but lost to Davis in that year's primary. Roe defeated Democratic nominee Rob Russell, director of the Writing and Communication Center at East Tennessee State University, in the November general election with 72 percent of the vote. However, it was widely presumed that Roe had clinched a seat in Congress with his victory in the primary; Republicans have held the 1st District seat continuously since 1881, and for all but four years since 1859. Shortly after his successful bid to represent the 1st District, Roe was interviewed by "Believe It, Achieve It," a DC-based radio program aimed at promoting youth interest in politics. The interview featured Roe conversing with a robot on topics ranging from health and fitness to the death of Michael Jackson. ;2010 Roe won re-election in 2010 with 80.8% of the vote against Democratic nominee Michael Clark.
Tenure
The 1st is known for giving its congressmen very long tenures in Washington; Roe was only the eighth person to hold the seat in 88 years. Roe hired Andrew Duke, a former chief of staff for North Carolina Republican congressman Robin Hayes, as his chief of staff. According to National Journal’s 2009 Vote Ratings, he was ranked as the 101st conservative in the House. On February 5, 2013, Roe introduced the National Desert Storm and Desert Shield War Memorial Act into the House. The bill would authorize the National Desert Storm Memorial Association to establish a memorial to honor members of the armed forces who participated in Operation Desert Storm or Operation Desert Shield. Roe said "I believe we should honor the commitment of every man and woman that honorably serves this country, and I am proud to see this bill move forward." During June 2013, WJHL-TV in Johnson City reported that Roe had written a letter to the federal court in Greeneville on the behalf of Dr. William Kincaid, who had plead guilty to one count of receiving in interstate commerce a misbranded drug. Federal prosecutors under the Independent Payment Advisory Board argued that Dr. Kincaid's driving forces for breaking the law were "money and greed" and because that decision by Kincaid created a "substantial risk of harm to patients," prosecutors also said Kincaid should spend the maximum three years behind bars for fraudulently obtaining federal reimbursement as a healthcare provider. Roe had initially promised to serve only five terms in Congress. However, on February 6, 2018; he announced he would run for a sixth term, saying that he needed to continue the work begun when he became chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
