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William L. JenkinsWilliam Lewis "Bill" Jenkins (b. 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 and 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 from 1990 to 1996. He resigned his judgeship to run for the House of Representatives from the First Congressional District after longtime congressman Jimmy Quillen announced his retirement. Jenkins managed to secure Quillen's endorsement, and he won the 1996 Republican primary election with 18% of the vote over eleven other candidates. The 1st was (and still is) so heavily Republican that his victory in the general election was a foregone conclusion. Republicans have held this seat for all but two years since 1861, and Republican nomination in this district had long been tantamount to victory. Jenkins kept this tradition going. He has won re-election without any serious opposition, and ran completely unopposed from 1998 to 2002. He won a fifth term in 2004 with almost 74% of the vote. Jenkins, William L.
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