From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lincoln Davis
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 7, 2003–
Preceded by	Van Hilleary
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Born	September 13, 1943 (age 63) Pall Mall, Tennessee
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Lynda Davis
Religion	Baptist

Lincoln Davis (born September 13, 1943 in Pall Mall, Tennessee) is a U.S. Representative from Tennessee, currently representing the state's 4th Congressional district (map). He is a Democrat. He is frequently mentioned as a 2010 gubernatorial candidate.

Davis, a 1966 Tennessee Technological University agriculture graduate who was raised in rural Fentress County, has been serving Tennesseans since being elected as mayor of Byrdstown in 1978. Davis served two terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, 1980-1984, and was later elected to two terms in the Tennessee State Senate, 1996-2002, resigning from that body midway through his second term when he was elected to represent the state’s Fourth Congressional District in November 2002, narrowly defeating Tullahoma Alderman Janice Bowling. He was handily reelected in a 2004 rematch against Bowling.

Davis has been recognized as a leader in the fight to allocate more federal money toward the cleanup of Tennessee’s abandoned coal mines, particularly in the Cumberland Plateau region, which lies partly in his district. He also recently joined Pete Sessions of Texas to co-sponsor homeland security legislation to crack down on immigrants who overstay their visas.

In the state legislature, Davis supported state employee and teacher pay raises, long-term care for senior citizens, character education in schools and new domestic violence legislation. Davis initiated and fought for a bill requiring counseling and a 12-hour holding period for domestic violence offenders. While a State Senator, Davis also voted to allow non-documented non-citizen aliens to receive Tennessee drivers' licenses which was highly criticized and has been since considered for repeal.

Davis holds membership in the House Committee on Science, the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He is a member of several caucuses, including the Congressional Caucus to Control Methamphetamine the Congressional Rural Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition, which is made up of fiscally conservative Democrats.

Davis is considered a conservative Democrat by national Democratic standards but by Tennessee standards he is considered a moderate. In 2004, he was endorsed by right-to-life groups, the National Rifle Association, and the Tennessee Conservative Union, groups all more frequently associated with Republicans. He has also stated his opposition to gay marriage.

Davis, who now lives in the rural Fentress County village of Pall Mall, also owns a construction business, Diversified Construction Co., which builds homes, apartments and offices. Davis and his wife Lynda, an elementary school teacher, have three daughters, Larissa, Lynn and Libby, and five grandchildren, Ashton, Alexia, Andrew, Austin and Adam.

• US Congress biography
• Personal biography
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post