The 2nd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Tim Burchett since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in East Tennessee and borders Kentucky and Virginia to the north and North Carolina to the south. It currently covers all of Blount, Claiborne, Grainger, Knox, Loudon and Union counties, along with the northern half of Campbell County and a sliver of Jefferson County. Characteristics The district is based in Knoxville, and is largely coextensive with that city's metropolitan area. The area is known for being the home of the flagship campus for the University of Tennessee, hosting the 1982 World's Fair, and for being the headquarters for the Tennessee Valley Authority, Ruby Tuesday, and Pilot Flying J. The 2nd is similar in character to the neighboring 1st, and has long been one of the safest districts in the nation for the Republican Party. No Democrat has represented the district since 1855, and Republicans have held the district continuously since 1859—the longest time any party has held any district. The Democrats waged some competitive races in the district during the 1930s. However, they have not put up a substantive candidate in the district since 1964, and have only managed 40 percent of the vote twice since then. Most of its residents supported the Union over the Confederacy during the American Civil War; it was one of four districts whose congressmen did not resign when Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861. The area's residents immediately identified with the Republicans after hostilities ceased. 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. This loyalty has persisted through good times and bad ever since, despite the vast ideological changes in both political parties since that time. The few Democratic pockets in the district are located in Knoxville, which occasionally elects Democratic mayors and occasionally sends Democrats to the state legislature. However, they are no match for the overwhelming Republican bent of the rest of Knox County, as well as the more suburban and rural areas. For example, Blount and Grainger counties are among the few counties in the country to have