Editing B. Carroll Reece (section)

===Denying renomination of Sam R. Sells and winning election to the U.S. House===
Reece first successfully ran for the House of Representatives in 1920, challenging incumbent Republican Sam R. Sells. Although supporters of Sells initially dismissed Reece's candidacy as a joke,<ref name=part1>Hill, Ray (February 14, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-i/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican,’ I]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved March 2, 2022.</ref> the political newcomer ran on his military service as Sells campaigned on his personality rather than his congressional voting record. During the campaign, Reece, who went to all counties in the district,<ref>Hill, Ray (February 21, 2021). [https://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/carroll-reece-tennessees-mr-republican-ii/ Carroll Reece: Tennessee’s ‘Mr. Republican’ II]. ''The Knoxville Focus''. Retrieved August 12, 2021.</ref> promised to serve only up to ten years, a vow he eventually broke.<ref name=part1/> He also attacked the incumbent Sells, a lumber businessman, for alleged conflicts of interest in voting to "exempt excess profit taxes on corporations," furthermore stating:<ref name=part1/>
{{cquote|Why don’t your congressman and mine in explaining how much he made in 1917 and 1918, tell our people how much he made in 1919, and why he voted to exempt these excess profits from taxes?}}

Reece ultimately defeated Sells in an upset to win the GOP nomination and cruise to victory in the general election.<ref>[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=300758 TN District 01 Race - Nov 02, 1920]. ''Our Campaigns''. Retrieved May 29, 2021.</ref> He would later recount his first interaction with his predecessor:<ref name=part1/>
{{cquote|Old [[Goliath]] showed that same spirit when he came face to face with [[David]]. What his attitude implied was, do you think that you can oppose me for this office? He knew who I was. Well might he have recalled the days when my father and mother lived in a log cabin which sat within the shadow of his mother’s stately mansion, and when I came to the back door of his house peddling butter and eggs. He thought he could break my spirit and that I would sneak away like a whipped cur. ‘You haven’t a chance to win the nomination,’ he said. ‘I’m in better shape than ever financially to fight competition, and when I get ready to retire I am going to name my successor.’ There was just one thing my friend overlooked and that is you can’t disregard the wishes of a great people in things like this.}}

The region had voted not to secede at the state convention in 1861. This region was heavily Republican&mdash;in fact, Republicans had represented this district for all but four years since 1859, and was one of the few regions in the former [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] where Republicans won on a regular basis.