Florida's 1st congressional district

Florida's 1st congressional district
	Florida's first congressional district. Since January 3, 2013.
	Matt Gaetz; R–Fort Walton Beach
Area	4,759[1] sq mi (12,330 km2)
Distribution	82.11% urban[2]; 17.89% rural;
Population (2016)	762,506[3]
Median income	$55,229[3]
Ethnicity	76.78% white; 13.81% black; 6.36% Hispanic; 2.56% Asian; 0.53% Native American;
Cook PVI	R+22[4]

Florida's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida, covering the state's western Panhandle. It includes all of Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties and portions of Holmes county. The district is anchored in Pensacola and also includes the large military bedroom communities and tourist destinations of Navarre and Fort Walton Beach and stretches along the Emerald Coast. According to the Cook Partisan Voting Index, it is the most Republican district in Florida and the 15th most Republican in the United States. The district is currently represented by Republican Matt Gaetz.

Characteristics

The district encompasses the western part of the Florida Panhandle, in the extreme western portion of the state, stretching from Pensacola and the Alabama border east to include Walton, Holmes, and Washington counties.

Most of the territory now in the 1st District had been the 3rd District from 1903 to 1963; however, it has been numbered as the 1st District since then. It cast aside its Democratic roots far sooner than most of the other areas of the state. It has not supported a Democrat for president since John F. Kennedy in 1960. In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater carried the district by such a large margin that it nearly pushed Florida's electoral votes into the Republican column. It has continued to vote for Republicans by very wide margins, with the only exception being 1976, where Gerald Ford won a narrow 50-49 victory over Jimmy Carter. Nonetheless, it usually continued to elect conservative Democrats at the state and local level, even in years when Republican presidential candidates won the district handily. Well into the 1980s, the district's congressmen and state lawmakers only faced "sacrificial lamb" Republican challengers on the occasions they faced any opposition at all. For example, Democratic incumbent Earl Hutto was unopposed for reelection in 1984 even as Ronald Reagan won the district with over 70 percent of the vote. As late as 1992, Democratic Senator Bob Graham easily carried the district with 54 percent of the vote--more than double Bill Clinton's total in the district.

This changed with the Republican Revolution of 1994. That year, Joe Scarborough became the first Republican to represent the Panhandle since Reconstruction. This change was more a result of eight-term incumbent Hutto retiring than of a Republican upsurge. It had been taken for granted that Hutto would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired, particularly after he was nearly defeated in 1990 and 1992. Republicans had also swept most of the district's overlapping state legislative seats. It is currently considered the most Republican district in Florida, and no Democratic candidate has won more than 40 percent of the vote since Hutto's retirement. John McCain received 67% of the vote in this district in 2008, and Mitt Romney and Donald Trump respectively carried it by similar margins in 2012 and 2016.

The district's conservatism is not limited to national politics. Since 1994, Republicans have dominated elections at the state and local levels. Graham is the last Democrat to have won it in a statewide race. In much of the district, there are now no elected Democrats above the county level.

The area comprising the 1st District has maintained a large military presence ever since John Quincy Adams persuaded Spain to sell Florida to the United States in 1819, in part to gain a deepwater port at Pensacola. The U.S. Air Force also has a large presence in Eglin Air Force Base, which is economically important to the district. Slightly under 14,000 people are employed at the base, which is one of the largest air bases in the world and has approximately 100,000 square miles (260,000 km²) of airspace stretching over the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Keys. Hurlburt Field is an auxiliary field at Eglin AFB and is the location of the Air Force Special Operations Command. Eglin AFB spreads over three counties. Pensacola Naval Air Station was the first Navy base devoted to the specific purpose of aviation, and is the home of the Blue Angels. Saufley Field, used for training, is slightly north of Pensacola NAS.

A large number of veterans who retire relocate to this district. Tourism, particularly in Navarre, Pensacola Beach, and Destin, is a major economic activity.

Voting

Election results from statewide races
Year	Office	Results
1992	President	Bush 51.2 - 25.7%
1992	Senator	Graham 54.5 - 45.5%
1994	Senator	Mack 80.9 - 19.1%
	Governor	Bush 60.8 - 39.2%
	Secretary of State	Mortham 64.1 - 35.9%
	Attorney General	Ferro 52.8 - 47.2%
	Comptroller	Milligan 59.1 - 40.9%
	Treasurer	Ireland 59.7 - 40.3%
	Education Commissioner	Brogan 64.1 - 35.9%
	Agriculture Commissioner	Smith 55.6 - 44.4%
1996	President	Dole 59.2 - 31.0%
1998	Senator	Crist 51.6 - 48.4%
	Governor	Bush 71.4 - 28.6%
	Secretary of State	Harris 65.0 - 35.0%
	Attorney General	Bludworth 57.0 - 43.0%
	Comptroller	Milligan 71.1 - 28.9%
	Treasurer	Ireland 58.8 - 41.2%
	Education Commissioner	Gallagher 67.2 - 32.8%
	Agriculture Commissioner	Faircloth 54.7 - 45.3%
2000	President	Bush 67.7 - 29.8%
	Senator	McCollum 64.7 - 35.3%
	Treasurer	Gallagher 73.1 - 26.9%
	Education Commissioner	Crist 67.6 - 32.4%
2004	President	Bush 72 - 28%
2008	President	McCain 67 - 32%
2012	President	Romney 69 - 31%
2016	President	Trump 68 - 28%

Voter registration

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of May 4, 2017
Party		Voters	Percentage
	Republican	285,314	52.80%
	Democratic	139,194	25.70%
	No Party Affiliation	114,431	21.20%

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District created		March 4, 1875
William J. Purman	Republican	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	44th	[data unknown/missing]	1875-1883 [data unknown/missing]
Robert H. M. Davidson	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1891	45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st	[data unknown/missing]	1875-1883 [data unknown/missing]
Robert H. M. Davidson	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1891	45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st	[data unknown/missing]	1883-1893 [data unknown/missing]
Stephen R. Mallory	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895	52nd 53rd	[data unknown/missing]	1883-1893 [data unknown/missing]
Stephen R. Mallory	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1895	52nd 53rd	[data unknown/missing]	1893-1903 [data unknown/missing]
Stephen M. Sparkman	Democratic	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1917	54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th	[data unknown/missing]	1893-1903 [data unknown/missing]
					1903-1913 [data unknown/missing]
					1913-1933 [data unknown/missing]
Herbert J. Drane	Democratic	March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1933	65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd	[data unknown/missing]	1913-1933 [data unknown/missing]
J. Hardin Peterson	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1951	73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st	[data unknown/missing]	1933-1943 [data unknown/missing]
J. Hardin Peterson	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1951	73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st	[data unknown/missing]	1943-1953 [data unknown/missing]
Chester B. McMullen	Democratic	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953	82nd	[data unknown/missing]	1943-1953 [data unknown/missing]
Courtney W. Campbell	Democratic	January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1955	83rd	[data unknown/missing]	1953-1963 [data unknown/missing]
William C. Cramer	Republican	January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1963	84th 85th 86th 87th	[data unknown/missing] Redistricted to the 12th district.	1953-1963 [data unknown/missing]
Bob Sikes	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1979	88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th	Redistricted from the 3rd district. Retired.	1963-1973 [data unknown/missing]
Bob Sikes	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1979	88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th	Redistricted from the 3rd district. Retired.	1973-1983 [data unknown/missing]
Earl Dewitt Hutto	Democratic	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1995	96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd	[data unknown/missing] Retired.	1973-1983 [data unknown/missing]
					1983-1993 [data unknown/missing]
					1993-2003 [data unknown/missing]
Joe Scarborough	Republican	January 3, 1995 – September 5, 2001	104th 105th 106th 107th	[data unknown/missing] Resigned.
Vacant		September 5, 2001 – October 16, 2001	107th
Jeff Miller	Republican	October 16, 2001 – January 3, 2017	107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th	Elected to finish Scarborough's term. Retired.
					2003-2013
					2013–present
Matt Gaetz	Republican	January 3, 2017 – Present	115th 116th	Elected in 2016.	2013–present

Recent election results

2001 (Special)

Florida's 1st congressional district special election, 2001[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller	53,547	65.68
	Democratic	Steve Briese	22,695	27.99
	Independent	John G. Ralls Jr.	5,115	6.31
	Write-ins		14	0.02
Total votes			81,071	100.00
	Republican hold

2002

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (Incumbent)	152,635	75%
	Democratic	Bert Oram	51,972	25%
	No party	Others	19	0.01
Total votes			204,626	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2004

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (Incumbent)	236,604	77%
	Democratic	Mark S. Coutu	72,506	23%
Total votes			309,110	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2006

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (Incumbent)	135,786	69%
	No party	Joe Roberts	62,340	31
Total votes			198,126	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2008

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (Incumbent)	232,559	70%
	Democratic	James E. Bryan	98,797	30%
Total votes			331,356	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2010

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (Incumbent)	170,821	80%
	Independent	Joe Cantrell	23,250	11%
	Independent	John E. Krause	18,253	9%
	No party	Others	1,202	0.56%
Total votes			213,526	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2012

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2012)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (Incumbent)	238,440	70%
	Democratic	James E. Bryan	92,961	27%
	Libertarian	Calen Fretts	11,176	3%
	No party	William Cleave Drummond II	17	0.0%
Total votes			342,594	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2014

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2014)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jeff Miller (Incumbent)	165,086	70%
	Democratic	James E. Bryan	54,976	23%
	No party	Mark Wichern	15,281	7
Total votes			235,343	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2016

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2016)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Gaetz	255,107	69%
	Democratic	Steven Specht	114,079	31%
Total votes			369,186	100%
Turnout
	Republican hold

2018

Florida's 1st Congressional District Election (2018)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Gaetz (Incumbent)	216,189	67.06%
	Democratic	Jennifer M. Zimmerman	106,199	32.94%
Total votes			322,388	100%
	Republican hold

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gollark: There will be MORE auctioforms?

gollark: Brute force?

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References

"Congressional Plan--SC14-1905 (Ordered by The Florida Supreme Court, 2-December-2015)" (PDF). Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cd_state.html
Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.
"Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
"October 16, 2001 Special General, Congress 1 & House 1". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved May 15, 2017.

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

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[1] "Congressional Plan--SC14-1905 (Ordered by The Florida Supreme Court, 2-December-2015)" (PDF). Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment. Retrieved 11 January 2017.

[2] ttps://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cd_state.html

[auto-3] Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau. "My Congressional District". www.census.gov.

[Cook-4] "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.

[5] "October 16, 2001 Special General, Congress 1 & House 1". Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Retrieved May 15, 2017.