Democratic incumbent John Tanner leads the Tennessee U.S. House District 8 election this evening by 73 percent with 96 percent of the precincts left to report in.

According to polls preceding this election Tanner was favored by a high margin over his opponent Republican John Farmer.

If re-elected, Tanner, born in Union City, Tenn., will continue into his 17th year in office, serving as a Tennessee congressman since 1989.

Before he began his tenure as Congressman Tanner served for 11 years in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

His opponent, Farmer, has 27 percent of the votes and is not likely to win the election. Many media outlets have already called Tanner as the victor in this years election.