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Tim Burchett

U.S. House · TN-2 · Republicans · since 2025

also

Candidate for U.S. House · TN-2

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Biography

Overview

Tim Burchett is a Republican U.S. representative for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2019. Born in Knoxville on August 25, 1964, he holds a Bachelor of Science in education from the University of Tennessee. Before his election to Congress, Burchett served in the Tennessee General Assembly (Tennessee House of Representatives, 1995-1998, and Tennessee State Senate, 1999-2010) and as Knox County mayor from 2010 to 2018. Tennessee's 2nd district is one of the nation's most heavily Republican districts, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+20, and has been held by Republicans and their predecessors without interruption since 1859.

Career

In the Tennessee State Senate, Burchett sponsored bills addressing drug regulation (successfully passing a 2006 bill banning salvia divinorum) and was known for a 1999 proposal to legalize the consumption of roadkill. As Knox County mayor (2010-2018), he organized a "cash mob" in 2012 that gained national media attention. In Congress, he has championed government efficiency through his subcommittee leadership and sponsored legislation to terminate federal programs he views as wasteful. He was one of eight Republicans to vote to remove Speaker McCarthy in 2023. Burchett has been vocal on non-traditional issues including alleged UFO government coverups and has maintained a friendship with progressive representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez despite their opposing policy positions.

Prior political experience

Burchett was first elected to Congress in 2018 after 30-year incumbent Jimmy Duncan announced his retirement. In the Republican primary, Burchett defeated state representative Jimmy Matlock by approximately 12 percentage points in a seven-candidate field. In the general election, he won decisively with 65.9% of the vote against Democrat Renee Hoyos's 33.1%. In 2020, he was reelected with 67.6% of the vote, again defeating Renee Hoyos. Prior to Congress, Burchett served in the Tennessee State Senate from 1999 to 2010 and as Knox County mayor from 2010 to 2018. In his 2014 re-election bid for Knox County mayor, he ran unopposed in both primary and general election.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal
Conservative
119th Congress+0.666

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1
+1
-0.443
Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 333 scored votes

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Officeholding history

TermSeatTerm datesTerminationPredecessorSuccessor
4thU.S. House TN-22025–presentIn progressTim Burchett—
3rdU.S. House TN-22023–2025Term endedTim BurchettTim Burchett
2ndU.S. House TN-22021–2023Term endedTim BurchettTim Burchett
1stU.S. House TN-22019–2021Term ended—Tim Burchett

Committee assignments

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

YearSeatResultVote shareField
2024U.S. House TN-2Pending69.26%