Stephen Lee Fincher (born February 7, 1973) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. The seat was vacated by retiring Democratic incumbent John S. Tanner in 2010, and Fincher defeated Democratic Tennessee state senator Roy Herron in the 2010 mid-term Congressional election. Fincher was reelected in 2012 and 2014. On February 1, 2016, he announced that he would not be running for a fourth term. On October 22, 2017, Fincher announced his candidacy for the U.S Senate seat held by outgoing Senator Bob Corker. Fincher withdrew his candidacy in February 2018, instead urging Corker to seek reelection.
Early life, education, and farming career
Fincher was born in 1973 in Memphis. When he was 9 years old, he joined the Fincher Family singing ministry, a gospel group led by his grandmother that travels to county fairs throughout the 8th district. They perform at more than 100 events each year. Fincher graduated from Crockett County High School in Alamo.
A seventh generation farmer, Fincher is a managing partner in Fincher Farms, a family business that grows cotton, corn, soybeans, and wheat on more than 2,500 acres in western Tennessee. The company has received $8.9 million in farm subsidies over the past decade, mostly from the cotton program, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Fincher received a $13,650 grant to help buy grain hauling and storage equipment from the state Department of Agriculture in 2009 as part of the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program. Fincher has received over $3.5 million from federal subsidies over the years, mostly for cotton farming.
Fincher and his wife Lynn live in Frog Jump, an unincorporated community west of Jackson.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2010
Fincher announced his candidacy for the 8th District before 11-term Democratic incumbent John S. Tanner announced his retirement. He won the August primary largely as a result of high voter turnout in rural areas of the district.
In the general election, Fincher faced Democratic State Senator Roy Herron, Tea Party candidate Donn Janes, who earlier dropped out of the Republican primary, and Independent Mark J. Rawles. Fincher declined to participate in a series of public debates. Fincher was criticized by Herron and local media for his decision to not disclose his income tax returns, calling the criticism a "witch hunt." Fincher stated: "There is no reason for me to disclose my tax returns. These attacks are because Herron is losing and he can't handle it. He is avoiding the issues."
He received endorsements from former Governor Winfield Dunn, Citizens United, Eagle Forum, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and State Senator Dolores Gresham. Fincher had over $420,000 cash on hand. Herron had over $1.1 million cash on hand.
The 8th had long been a classic "Yellow Dog" Democrat district. Most state and local officials were Democrats, and congressional elections usually saw Democrats skate to reelection. However, it had become increasingly friendly to Republicans at the national level since the turn of the 21st century. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican U.S. Senator John McCain carried the district with 56% of the vote.
On November 2, 2010, Fincher defeated Herron, receiving 98,484 votes to Herron's 64,701, or approximately 60% of the vote. Upon his swearing-in on January 3, 2011, Fincher became the first Republican to represent what is now the 8th District since 1898.
2012
Fincher's seat was made considerably safer after the 2010 census. He lost his share of Clarksville while picking up some heavily Republican territory east of Memphis which had previously been in the 7th District. This turned the 8th into one of the most Republican districts in the nation; with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+19, it is the 11th most Republican district in the South and the most Republican district in the state outside of East Tennessee.
On paper, this left Fincher vulnerable to a primary challenge from a Memphis-area Republican. However, his lone opponent in the Republican primary was Annette Justice, a youth worker from Dyersburg. Fincher defeated her with 86% of the vote, and then defeated Democrat Timothy Dixon in the general election with 68% of the vote.
2014
On November 4, 2014, Fincher was elected to a third term by his widest margin, securing approximately 73% of the vote.