ABOUT THE DISTRICTTennessee’s 4th Congressional District, which includes about 721,000 residents, meanders through all or parts of 16 counties in middle to southeast Tennessee. The district includes all of Bedford, Bledsoe, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Marion, Marshall, Meigs, Moore, Rhea, Rutherford, Sequatchie, Van Buren, and Warren counties, as well as parts of Bradley and Maury counties.• Median household income: $43,563• Percent of population with a high school diploma or higher: 85• Percent of population with a bachelor’s degree or higher: 20• Number of civilian veterans: 55,035
State Sen. Jim TracyChances are, if state Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyille, is elected in November as Tennessee’s 4th District congressman, his conservative ranking will be nearly as high in 2016 as that of the incumbent he is facing in the Aug. 7 Republican Party primary.
Scott DesJarlais, the South Pittsburg physician who is seeking a third term in Congress, is the fourth most conservative member of the U.S. House of Representatives, according to National Journal Magazine.
In the belief Tracy will follow that conservative path and with the knowledge the incumbent is likely too damaged to win re-election, we endorse Tracy — of the seven seeking the GOP nomination — in next week’s primary.
The winner will face unopposed Democrat Lenda Sherrell of Monteagle in November.