During the American Civil War era, the area was represented in Congress by Horace Maynard.

The younger Duncan served for over thirty years from late 1988 until his successor was sworn in early January 2019.

Upon Jimmy Duncan's retirement, the district chose outgoing Knox County mayor Tim Burchett, who has served since January 2019.

However, they are no match for the overwhelming Republican bent of the rest of Knox County and the more suburban and rural areas.

Much of that sentiment was derived from the region's economic base of small-scale farming, with little or no use for slavery; thus, voters were mostly indifferent or hostile to the concerns of plantation owners and other landed interests farther west in the state, who aligned themselves with the Democratic Party.