helping to guide farm policy for Tennessee during a time of rapid technological change and the social changes as many people left the rural farms. His challenges included the transition of Tennessee agriculture from small family farms to commercial business operations. He created an Assistant Commissioner position to oversee the administrative operations so that he could focus on strategic issues involving animal health vaccination and inspections, artificial insemination for breeding dairy cattle, establishment of a surplus food distribution program for schools, food safety inspections, and agricultural disaster response. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy appointed him chairman of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service state committee for Tennessee. He held that position until his election to Congress in 1969. U.S. legislative service In March 1969, Jones won the Democratic nomination for a special election to replace Robert "Fats" Everett, Congressman from the 8th District in Northwest Tennessee, who had died in office. The election was unusual in that it was contested not only by the Republicans but also by the American Independent Party of George Wallace, who did well in Northwest Tennessee in the previous year's presidential election. The other two candidates almost split the vote evenly in the March 25 contest; Jones won with a substantial plurality and was sworn in as soon as the results were certified. However, he was never again to face an election nearly this close. Jones was re-elected to a full term with less opposition in 1970. In 1972 his district was merged with the Jackson-based 7th District of fellow Democrat Ray Blanton. The resulting district was, if anything, even more Democratic than his previous district. While it retained Blanton's district number, geographically it was more Jones' district (it became the 8th once again after Tennessee regained a ninth district in the 1980 census). To avoid a primary election, Blanton ran, unsuccessfully, for the United States Senate against Republican Howard Baker. Jones retained his seat easily even as Richard Nixon won 90 of Tennessee's 95 counties, including most of his district. He was reelected completely unopposed in 1974. In 1976, Martin businessman and state representative Larry Bates, an associate of high-profile East Tennessee banker Jake Butcher, ran against Jones in the Democratic primary. This was the first (and as it turned out, only) serious challenge of any sort Jones faced. No other party put up a candidate, meaning that victory in the primary was