Jenkins was the only Republican to serve as Speaker of the Tennessee House in the 20th century. He was also one of the youngest persons to ever hold the office.
Jenkins served on the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 1971 to 1978, and he was a circuit court judge for Tennessee's Third Judicial District from 1990 to 1996.
Running for Congress
Jenkins' official congressional portrait
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 election was watched very closely in Tennessee Republican circles, as the district is so heavily Republican that whoever won the primary was all but assured of being the district's next congressman. The First District has been in Republican hands for all but four years since 1859.
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.
Reelection and legislation
He was 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.
Jenkins kept a relatively low profile in Congress in contrast to Quillen and B. Carroll Reece, who between them represented the 1st District for all but seven of the 76 years before Jenkins won the seat. His voting record was reliably conservative.
Best bass fisherman in Congress
As seen on ESPN: "After the final cast was made, however, bragging rights for the title of "best bass fishermen in Congress" went to U.S. Representative Bill Jenkins (R-TN), who teamed up with BASS Elite Series pro Dave Wolak and Toyota's Charlie Ing to finish with five bass weighing 18 pounds, 9 ounces.
Fittingly, the 70-year-old legislator from Tennessee also posted the largest fish of the event, a 4 ½-pound largemouth that he caught in Mattawoman Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland."
Retirement
On February 15, 2006, Jenkins announced that he would not run for a sixth term. He said that he wanted to spend more time with his family since he turned 70 that November.
Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1996, Bill Bull Durham received 885 votes; John Curtis received 621 votes; Mike Fugate received 440 votes; Paul Schmidt received 367 votes; and write-ins received 26 votes. In 1998, write-ins received 75 votes. In 2000, write-ins received 20 votes.
