Rural counties at the heart of Tennessee’s agricultural industry, a slice of Memphis’ lowest income neighborhoods and the affluent suburbs of Williamson County have something in common: Come November, they’ll all be represented by the same U.S. House Representative.
The upside-down horseshoe-shaped district reaches from southwest Memphis, up to Tennessee’s northern border and back down to Middle Tennessee. It spans parts of 17 counties, including communities with the state’s highest and lowest poverty rates; the highest and lowest median incomes; and portions of the most populous and near-least populated counties in the state.
Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District was a Democratic stronghold seat encompassing Davidson County for decades until the state legislature “cracked” the county into three separate districts in 2020. Republican incumbent Andy Ogles won the seat in 2022…