Davis and his wife Lynda, a now retired elementary school teacher, have three daughters, Larissa, Lynn and Libby, and five grandchildren.

[7] While in the Tennessee General Assembly, Davis supported state employee and teacher pay raises, long-term care for senior citizens, character education in schools and new domestic violence legislation.

[citation needed] He opposes abortion and gun control, stances typical of most Democrats from rural areas of the state.

[9] Midway through his second term in the State Senate, in 2002, Davis ran for the Democratic nomination in the 4th District when four-term Republican incumbent Van Hilleary gave up the seat to make what would ultimately be an unsuccessful run for governor.

This time, he narrowly won the primary against a self-funding opponent, Fran Marcum of Tullahoma, who spent nearly $2 million in the race.

Although the 4th was not considered safe for either major party, its size (it stretches across two time zones and five television markets) made it very difficult to unseat an incumbent.

Hillary Clinton won the primary in his district by a significant margin,[13] and John McCain outran Barack Obama there by 29 percentage points.

[14] In the November 2008 general election, Davis defeated Republican candidate Monty Lankford, a hospital equipment company owner.

In the wake of Tennessee passing a strict voter identification law in 2011, Davis was denied the right to vote in Fentress County on Super Tuesday in March 2012.