Editing Ed Bryant (section)

== U.S. House of Representatives ==
When Seventh District Congressman [[Don Sundquist]] did not run for re-election in 1994 (choosing instead to wage an ultimately successful campaign for [[governor of Tennessee|governor]]), Bryant won the Republican [[Partisan primary|primary]] for the district. The 7th is one of the state's most Republican districts outside of [[East Tennessee]]. Under the circumstances, Bryant's victory in November was a foregone conclusion.

In his three subsequent re-elections, Bryant never failed to receive under 60% of the vote. His only serious opposition came in his first reelection bid, when [[Clarksville, Tennessee|Clarksville]] [[mayor]] Don Trotter faced him. Bryant defeated him by over 30 points. As of the 2016 elections, Trotter is the last reasonably well-financed Democrat to run in the 7th, and one of only three Democrats to make a serious bid for the seat since it fell into Republican hands in 1972 (when it was numbered as the 6th District; it has been the 7th since 1983). Bryant was unopposed in 1998, and was reelected by over 40 points in 2000.

Bryant established a solidly [[Conservatism|conservative]] record and was a darling of both business-oriented groups such as the [[National Federation of Independent Business]] and social conservative groups such as the [[American Conservative Union]], the [[National Rifle Association of America]], and National [[Right-to-Life]]. He was best known as one of the [[House managers]] (prosecutors) in [[Impeachment trial of Bill Clinton|the impeachment trial]] of President [[Bill Clinton]]. Bryant was regarded by many as one of the less strident and pompous and more personable managers. This is supposedly why [[Monica Lewinsky]] chose Bryant to be the manager to interview her about the case.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}