KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Renee Hoyos will run for Congress in 2020.
Hoyos announced Tuesday her campaign for Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District -- the seat currently held by Rep. Tim Burchett.
If successful in 2020, Hoyos would be the first-ever Democrat to represent East Tennessee in the House of Representatives. She said the district's history is Republican. But in recent years, she said she's seen a shift.
"Our district is changing. It’s moved towards the Democratic party in the past five election cycles," Hoyos said in a Tuesday statement.
Hoyos, the former Executive Director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network, ran against Burchett in 2018. While Burchett was elected as Representative, Hoyos received more votes than any Democrat in the district's history.
In this 2018 interview with 10News, Hoyos said she was proud to have run without using PAC money or negative ads.
Hoyos said, if elected, she would fight against powerful forces in Washington.
“East Tennesseans deserve a Congresswoman who knows how to fight against powerful, outside special interests, who threaten our healthcare, threaten our clean water, and threaten our way of life,” Hoyos said.
Burchett has not yet announced whether he plans to run for re-election in 2020.
Last year's election was the first in decades to not include an incumbent candidate. Burchett's predessessor, John Duncan, Jr., remained in office from 1988 to the beginning of 2019.
