Racing to Define Roe’s Tennessee Upset

How did Johnson City Mayor Phil Roe oust incumbent Rep. David Davis (R), pulling off a 500-vote upset in Tennessee’s first congressional district GOP primary last night? It depends who you ask.

Davis’s oil industry contributions and Roe’s grassroots strength are the leading explanations thusfar, as Democrats and Republicans strive to spin the freshman congressman’s narrow loss.

It was ties to “Big Oil” that led to Davis’s downfall, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) claimed in an e-mail to reporters today, suggesting Davis’s loss bodes will for Democrats nationwide as gas prices have tuned voters’ ears to the energy debate, and receiving contributions from the oil industry apparently hadn’t sat well in Tennessee’s conservative first district.

Roe had attacked those ties in his campaign, airing a TV ad that said mentioned high gas prices before asking, “Why is ‘Big Oil’ trying to buy our seat in Congress, and why is Davis accepting their cash?” Davis received at least $7,500 from oil companies out of $613,000 total contributions for the cycle. He has called for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, commonly called ANWR, and for more drilling offshore.