[5] The district has a very strong military presence, as it includes Tennessee's share of Fort Campbell.

Politically speaking, the area was secessionist and part of the Democrats' "Solid South" for a century after the Civil War, excluding heavily Republican Unionist Highland Rim Wayne County.

It has a strong social conservative bent; many of the state's most politically active churches are either located here or draw most of their congregations from here.

The city of Clarksville is the most competitive part of the district, which still occasionally elects Democrats to the state legislature.

At that time, the 6th was redrawn to stretch from Williamson County, south of Nashville, to the eastern suburbs of Memphis and covering the rural areas in between.

Following this re-districting, Beard made an unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid, and was replaced by former Shelby County Republican Party chair Don Sundquist.

Redistricting after the 2010 census made the district somewhat more compact, restoring a configuration similar to the 1983-2003 lines.

In the concurrent election, the district selected doctor and former state senator Mark E. Green.