The 2nd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Tim Burchett since January 2019.
The district is based in Knoxville, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. The area is known for being the home of the flagship campus for the University of Tennessee, hosting the 1982 World's Fair, and for being the headquarters for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Ruby Tuesday, and Pilot Flying J. The 2nd is similar in character to the neighboring 1st, and has long been one of the safest districts in the nation for the Republican Party. No Democrat has represented the district since 1855, and Republicans have held the district continuously since 1859. The Democrats waged some competitive races in the district during the 1930s, but have not made a substantive bid for the district since 1964. This district traditionally gives its congressmen very long tenures in Washington, electing some of the few truly senior Southern Republican congressmen before the 1950s. Since 1909, only seven people have represented the district–Richard W. Austin, J. Will Taylor, John Jennings Jr., Howard Baker Sr., John Duncan Sr., Jimmy Duncan, and Burchett. Six of them have served at least ten years in Congress, with three of those having served at least twenty years.
Although the district has taken many forms over the years, it has included Knoxville every year since 1853. During the Civil War era, the area was represented in Congress by Horace Maynard. Maynard switched parties many times, but was pro-Union, and did not resign from Congress when Tennessee seceded. Maynard entered Congress in 1857, but did not leave entirely until 1875. For a short period in the 1870s, the area was represented by Jacob M. Thornburgh. For the 44th United States Congress, Thornburgh was the only Republican in the Tennessee delegation. Following Thornburgh's retirement, the district chose former Union colonel Leonidas C. Houk, who served until his death in 1891, upon which he was succeeded by his son John. In late 1893, John faced a primary challenge from Henry R. Gibson. Gibson was chosen following this narrow and divisive primary, then went on to serve in Congress for ten years. Gibson did not seek re-election in 1904 and was succeeded by Nathan W. Hale, who served only two terms. Similar in character to the Houk/Gibson primary in 1893, Hale faced a divisive primary with eventual winner Richard W. Austin in 1908. Ten years later, Austin himself was defeated for the Republican nomination, being edged out by former state Republican chairman J. Will Taylor. Taylor managed to serve for twenty years until his death in 1939. In a special election to fill the vacancy left by Taylor's death, the district elected former judge John Jennings, Jr.. Jennings' tenure nearly perfectly coincided with the 1940s decade. In 1950, Jennings was defeated in primary by former district attorney Howard Baker, Sr.. Baker served for thirteen years until his death in 1964, where he was succeeded by his widow Irene who did not seek re-election. In the 1964 election, the district chose Knoxville mayor John Duncan, Sr.. Duncan served for 23 years before his death in summer 1988. Following Duncan's death, the district elected his son, Jimmy. The younger Duncan served for just over thirty years from late 1988 until his successor was sworn in early January 2019. Upon Jimmy Duncan's retirement, the district chose outgoing Knox County mayor Tim Burchett, who has served since January 2019.
