Nashville’s three congressional districts — Tennessee’s 5th, 6th and 7th — intersect in South Nashville.
The train tracks that run above the Hicks-Ellis Tunnel on Thompson Lane mark the border between the 5th and 6th, and a northern portion of the 5th butts up against the 7th, which stretches to the northeast before curving back toward the center of Davidson County. The districts, to put it mildly, are not laid out simply. The 6th runs along the east side of those train tracks before stopping at the south side of I-440; the 7th runs along the west side of those tracks and north of I-440.
This description of where the three districts meet — convoluted as the intersection is — does little to explain their scale and where they really begin and end. The 7th Congressional District alone encompasses 11 entire counties — Stewart, Montgomery, Robertson, Houston, Dickson, Cheatham, Humphreys, Hickman, Decatur, Perry and Wayne — in addition to portions of Davidson, Williamson and Benton.
Confused yet? Don’t worry, the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury has a map you can reference. (For those who recall Microsoft Paint, it should bring back fond memories.)
When you travel from the intersection of those districts into the 7th, you move from industrial and commercial areas, past the (delicious) El Mariachi Mexican Restaurant, Electronic Express Outlet Store, Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home and Woodlawn Memorial Park (the resting place of George Jones). The district moves into Berry Hill, encompassing The Fairgrounds Nashville and Geodis Park and established residential neighborhoods dotted with churches and newer tall-and-skinny homes.
From there, the 7th expands into and throughout West Nashville and further into the western portions of Middle Tennessee, much of which is rural. At times, these portions of the district seem like they’re a world away from Davidson County.
Given the fact that the overwhelming majority of the 7th Congressional District lies outside of Davidson County, that’s where most of the campaigning to replace retired U.S. Rep. Mark Green has occurred — largely in the form of partisan forums and meet-and-greets. Most of those events have been to the benefit of Republicans, whose county party presence and power are far more robust than those of the Democrats throughout the district.
With Republican lawmakers carving up Nashville’s congressional district, state Democrats can only find recourse in the courts
Nashville’s gerrymandering issue dates back to 2022, when Tennessee’s Republican supermajority approved the revised congressional district maps, along with redrawn state Senate and House district maps. The map was later challenged in federal court, but that challenge was eventually dismissed — meaning the districts will likely retain their serpentine shapes until after the next federal census in 2030. District maps are typically reevaluated or redrawn every decade.
Before 2022’s redistricting, Nashville was home to a Democratic-safe seat in Congress for decades. Since then, the state’s most populous city has been represented by Republicans, all of whom have handily won reelection: Rep. Andy Ogles in the 5th, Rep. John Rose in the 6th and, until his resignation in July, Rep. Mark Green in the 7th.
None of them actually resides in Nashville.
In 2022, Tennessee’s Republican supermajority carved Nashville into three new congressional districts. Here’s how that has played out since.
