Bill Jenkins (politician)

William Lewis "Bill" Jenkins (born November 29, 1936) is a politician from the state of Tennessee. He has represented the state's 1st Congressional district, centered around the Tri-Cities (map), since 1997.

Jenkins was born in Detroit, Michigan, but he is a seventh-generation Tennesseean. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University. Jenkins was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly as a Republican in 1962 and he served as Speaker of the House from 1969 to 1971, the only Republican to do so in the 20th century. Jenkins served on the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 1971 to 1978, and was a circuit court judge for Tennessee's Third Judicial District from 1990 to 1996.

On May 10, 1996, he resigned his judgeship to run for the House of Representatives from the First Congressional District after 17-term incumbent Jimmy Quillen announced his retirement. The 12-way primary was watched very closely in Tennessee Republican circles, as the district is so heavily Republican that whoever won the Republican primary was all but assured of being the district's next congressman.

Although Jenkins did not secure Quillen's endorsement for the primary, he narrowly won with 18% of the vote and breezed to election in November. He has been reelected four times without serious opposition, and ran unopposed in 2000 and 2002. He won a fifth term in 2004 with 74% of the vote.

Unlike Quillen, who was the de facto leader of the Republican Party in East Tennessee for many years, Jenkins has kept a relatively low profile. His voting record has been staunchily conservative.