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JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Being linked to “big oil” turned into a big problem for Tennessee Republican freshman Rep. David Davis, who became the first congressman from that state to lose in a primary in more than four decades.
Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe beat Davis by 500 votes Thursday in the solidly Republican 1st District in the northeastern corner of the state.
Congressional incumbents from Tennessee are rarely voted out of office. Statewide, the last time an incumbent was defeated in a party primary was 1966 when Democrat Tom Murray lost to Ray Blanton in what was then the 7th District. Blanton won the general election, then became governor in 1974.
