Reporters from publications with national reach are descending on various congressional districts this election season to write the 'definitive' piece examining what is happening in this midterm election, but none will come closer to explaining the dynamics affecting voters and candidates than our own Bartholomew Sullivan's in-depth look at the 8th Congressional District contest featuring longtime Democratic state senator Roy Herron from Dresden and political newcomer Stephen Fincher, a farmer and gospel singer from Crockett County recruited to represent the Republicans.
Go read it, but some of Bart's opening paragraphs really lay things out well.
Go read it, but some of Bart's opening paragraphs really lay things out well.
In this era of slick television campaigns, when image is everything and substance is blurred, the race for the open West Tennessee congressional seat offers candidates so strikingly different that their pre-packaged story lines are best ignored.Bart talked to a Union University professor, Sean F. Evans, who has a strong feel for the pulse of the district.
After all, being a congressman is not about driving old trucks or singing gospel songs. It's serious work, demanding thoughtfulness, imagination, sometimes even courage, not slogans and shotguns.
The two main candidates, Democrat Roy Herron of Dresden and Republican Stephen Fincher of Crockett County, have deep ties to rural West Tennessee. The independents Donn Janes of Brighton and Mark J. Rawles of Jackson are a more significant factor than would be normal in this year of upset victories for tea party-affiliated candidates.
The district has 40,589 voters in Shelby County and stretches through 19 counties from Millington and Jackson and Clarksville to the Kentucky state line. Evans says most of the counties in the district elect Democrats locally but generally have trended toward the GOP in recent presidential, gubernatorial and senate elections.
"I would say that, if it was not a wave election, like it is, Roy Herron would probably be the favorite," Evans said. "What potentially hurts him in this election is he's been in politics for years and years in a year when being in politics is not necessarily a positive."
Fincher, Evans said, "better reflects the typical voter in West Tennessee, at least on a demographic level."
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