Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district comprises land from the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain south to the Mississippi River delta.
Louisiana's 1st congressional district | |||
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![]() 'Louisiana's 1st congressional district since January 3, 2013 | |||
Representative |
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Distribution |
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Population (2016) | 803,427[2] | ||
Median income | $58,199[3] | ||
Ethnicity |
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Cook PVI | R+24[4] |
The district is currently represented by Republican House minority whip Steve Scalise.
History
Prior to 1974, the 1st congressional district was entirely south of Lake Pontchartrain. As a result of population changes reflected in the 1970 U.S. Census and a concern to ensure that the 2nd congressional district was majority African American, the district was redrawn to include the Northshore.[Source Needed] This was done to comply with the Voting Rights Act,[Source Needed] passed in 1965 to enforce constitutional rights of minorities in voting, including the opportunity to elect a representative of their choosing and to redistrict after censuses.
In 1974, the state legislature redefined the 1st congressional district, dropping its precincts south of the lake and adding St. Tammany Parish, which borders Lake Pontchartrain on the north, from the 6th congressional district. Subsequently, the 1st congressional district acquired Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, both north of the lake, from the 6th congressional district.
Correspondingly, the 1st congressional district shed conservative St. Bernard Parish and other areas south of the lake to the 3rd congressional district from 1984 through 2013. Overall, the 1st congressional district has become a very safe district for the Republican Party.[5] Before the 1960s, it was controlled by Democrats, but conservative whites realigned with the Republican Party.[Source Needed]
The number of registered voters north of the lake is, as of 2008, slightly higher than south of the lake; however, the 1st congressional district has yet to be represented by a resident from north of Lake Pontchartrain.[6] The reformulation of the 1st congressional district so that it virtually surrounds "the nation's second-largest saltwater lake" has generated a local joke that in the 1st congressional district of Louisiana, the voters are outnumbered by the fish.
The seat was previously held by former governor Bobby Jindal, who was elected after David Vitter retired to successfully run for the U.S. Senate. Republicans have held the seat since 1977. That year Bob Livingston won a special election after Richard Alvin Tonry, who won the seat in 1976, was forced to resign the seat and lost the Democratic primary in the special election.
From 2003 to 2013, the district comprised mostly land on the North Shore and South Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, although it also contained areas west of Lake Pontchartrain. The district included some or all of the following parishes: Washington, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Jefferson, Orleans and St. Charles. It also included the cities of Hammond and Slidell and most of the western suburbs of New Orleans, including Metairie and Kenner, along with a small portion of the city itself. The district had the lowest percentage of African-American residents among the state's six-district Congressional delegation.
In 2013, St. Bernard and neighboring Plaquemines Parishes were returned to the first district after nearly 30 years in the Third. The First also picked up much of Lafourche Parish and the southernmost portion of Terrebonne Parish for the first time.
Recent presidential elections
Election results from presidential races | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Office | Results |
2000 | President | Bush 67 - 31% |
2004 | President | Bush 71 - 28% |
2008 | President | McCain 73 - 26% |
2012 | President | Romney 71 - 27% |
2016 | President | Trump 69 - 27% |
List of members representing the district
Member | Party | Years | Cong ress |
Electoral history | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
District created | March 4, 1823 | ||||
![]() Edward Livingston |
Jackson Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 |
18th 19th 20th |
Elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1826. [data unknown/missing] |
1823 – 1833 Ascension, Assumption, Saint Charles, Saint John, Lafourche, Orleans, Saint Bernard, Saint James, and Terrebonne parishes |
Jacksonian | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1829 | ||||
![]() Edward Douglass White Sr. |
Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833 |
21st 22nd 23rd |
[data unknown/missing] Resigned. | |
March 4, 1833 – November 15, 1834 |
1833 – 1843 [data unknown/missing] | ||||
Vacant | November 15, 1834 – December 1, 1834 | ||||
![]() Henry Johnson |
Anti-Jacksonian | December 1, 1834 – March 3, 1837 |
23rd 24th 25th |
[data unknown/missing] | |
Whig | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839 | ||||
![]() Edward Douglass White Sr. |
Whig | March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 |
26th 27th |
[data unknown/missing] | |
![]() John Slidell |
Democratic | March 4, 1843 – November 10, 1845 |
28th 29th |
[data unknown/missing] Resigned. |
1843 – 1853 [data unknown/missing] |
Emile La Sére | Democratic | January 29, 1846 – March 3, 1851 |
29th 30th 31st |
[data unknown/missing] | |
Louis St. Martin | Democratic | March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853 |
32nd | [data unknown/missing] | |
William Dunbar | Democratic | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 |
33rd | [data unknown/missing] | 1853 – 1863 [data unknown/missing] |
![]() George Eustis Jr. |
Know Nothing | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859 |
34th 35th |
[data unknown/missing] | |
![]() J. E. Bouligny |
Know Nothing | March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 |
36th | Bouligny opposed Louisiana's secession and remained in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War. He never retook residency in Louisiana. | |
Vacant | March 4, 1861 – December 3, 1862 |
Civil War | |||
![]() Benjamin Flanders |
Unionist | December 3, 1862 – March 3, 1863 |
37th | Remained seated for his term during War. | |
Vacant | March 3, 1863 – July 18, 1868 |
Civil War – Louisiana under occupation | 1863 – 1873 [data unknown/missing] | ||
![]() Jacob Hale Sypher |
Republican | July 18, 1868 – March 3, 1869 |
40th | [data unknown/missing] | |
Vacant | March 3, 1869 – November 7, 1870 |
Contested election of Louis St. Martin and Jacob Hale Sypher, House decided neither candidate entitled to seat. | |||
![]() J. Hale Sypher |
Republican | November 7, 1870 – March 3, 1875 |
41st 42nd 43rd |
Sypher's 1872 re-election was successfully contested by Effingham Lawrence. Sypher lost, but only after the original returns were certified in his favor. After protracted court intervention, Lawrence was declared elected, but just one day (March 3, 1875) remained in the term, and in the meantime Lawrence had lost the 1874 election to Democrat Randall Lee Gibson. | |
Effingham Lawrence | Democratic | March 3, 1875 – March 3, 1875 |
43rd | Successfully contested Sypher's election, then retired after one day in office—the shortest service ever by a member of the House of Representatives. | |
![]() Randall Lee Gibson |
Democratic | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883 |
44th 45th 46th 47th |
[data unknown/missing] Resigned from House on election to U.S. Senate. | |
Carleton Hunt | Democratic | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885 |
48th | [data unknown/missing] | 1883 – 1893 [data unknown/missing] |
Louis St. Martin | Democratic | March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1887 |
49th | [data unknown/missing] | |
Theodore Stark Wilkinson | Democratic | March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891 |
50th 51st |
[data unknown/missing] | |
![]() Adolph Meyer |
Democratic | March 4, 1891 – March 8, 1908 |
52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th |
[data unknown/missing] Died. | |
Vacant | March 8, 1908 – November 3, 1908 | ||||
![]() Albert Estopinal |
Democratic | November 3, 1908 – April 28, 1919 |
60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th |
[data unknown/missing] Died. | |
Vacant | April 28, 1919 – June 5, 1919 | ||||
James O'Connor | Democratic | June 5, 1919 – March 3, 1931 |
66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st |
Elected to finish Estopinal's term. Lost renomination. | |
![]() Joachim O. Fernandez |
Democratic | March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1941 |
72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th |
[data unknown/missing] Lost renomination. | |
![]() Felix Edward Hébert |
Democratic | January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1977 |
77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th |
[data unknown/missing] Retired. | |
![]() Richard Alvin Tonry |
Democratic | January 3, 1977 – May 4, 1977 |
95th | [data unknown/missing] Resigned after conviction for vote-buying. | |
Vacant | May 4, 1977 – August 27, 1977 | ||||
![]() Bob Livingston |
Republican | August 27, 1977 – March 1, 1999 |
95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th |
Elected to finish Tonry's term. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Resigned. | |
Vacant | March 2, 1999 – May 29, 1999 | ||||
![]() David Vitter |
Republican | May 29, 1999 – January 3, 2005 |
106th 107th 108th |
Elected to finish Livingston's term. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |
2003 – 2013![]() | |||||
![]() Bobby Jindal |
Republican | January 3, 2005 – January 14, 2008 |
109th 110th |
Elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Resigned to become Governor of Louisiana. | |
Vacant | January 14, 2008 – May 3, 2008 | ||||
![]() Steve Scalise |
Republican | May 3, 2008 – Present |
110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th |
Elected to finish Jindal's term. Re-elected later in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. | |
2013 – Present![]() |
Recent Election Results
2002
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | David Vitter* | 147,117 | 81.47 | |
Republican | Monica L. Monica | 20,268 | 11.22 | |
Republican | Robert Namer | 7,229 | 4.00 | |
Libertarian | Ian P. Hawxhurst | 5,956 | 3.30 | |
Total votes | 180,570 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2004
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Bobby Jindal | 225,708 | 78.40 | |
Democratic | Roy Armstrong | 19,266 | 6.69 | |
Democratic | Vinny Mendoza | 12,779 | 4.44 | |
Democratic | Daniel Zimmerman | 12,135 | 4.22 | |
Democratic | Jerry Watts | 10,034 | 3.49 | |
Republican | Mike Rogers | 7,975 | 2.77 | |
Total votes | 287,897 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2006
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Bobby Jindal* | 130,508 | 88.11 | |
Democratic | David Gereighty | 10,919 | 7.37 | |
Democratic | Stacey Tallitsch | 5,025 | 3.39 | |
Libertarian | Peter L. Beary | 1,676 | 1.13 | |
Total votes | 148,128 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2008
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Steve Scalise | 33,867 | 75.14 | |
Democratic | Gilda Reed | 10,142 | 22.50 | |
Independent | R.A. "Skip" Galan | 786 | 1.74 | |
Independent | Anthony Gentile | 280 | 0.62 | |
Total votes | 45,075 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Steve Scalise* | 189,168 | 65.68 | |
Democratic | Jim Harlan | 98,839 | 34.32 | |
Total votes | 288,007 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2010
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Steve Scalise* | 157,182 | 78.52 | |
Democratic | Myron Katz | 38,416 | 19.19 | |
Independent | Arden Wells | 4,578 | 2.29 | |
Total votes | 200,176 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2012
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Steve Scalise* | 193,496 | 66.63 | |
Democratic | Vinny Mendoza | 61,703 | 21.25 | |
Republican | Gary King | 24,844 | 8.55 | |
Independent | David Turknett | 6,079 | 2.09 | |
Independent | Arden Wells | 4,578 | 1.48 | |
Total votes | 290,410 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2014
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Steve Scalise* | 189,250 | 77.56 | |
Democratic | Vinny Mendoza | 24,761 | 10.15 | |
Democratic | Lee Dugas | 21,286 | 8.72 | |
Libertarian | Jeff Sanford | 8,707 | 3.57 | |
Total votes | 244,004 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2016
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Steve Scalise* | 243,645 | 74.56 | |
Democratic | Lee Ann Dugas | 41,840 | 12.80 | |
Democratic | Danil Faust | 12,708 | 3.89 | |
Libertarian | Howard Kearney | 9,405 | 2.88 | |
Democratic | Joe Swider | 9,237 | 2.83 | |
Green | Eliot Barron | 6,717 | 2.06 | |
Independent | Chuemal Yang | 3,236 | 0.99 | |
Total votes | 326,788 | 100.00 | ||
Turnout | ||||
Republican hold | ||||
2018
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Steve Scalise (incumbent) | 192,526 | 71.5 | |
Democratic | Tammy Savoie | 44,262 | 16.4 | |
Democratic | Lee Ann Dugas | 18,552 | 6.9 | |
Democratic | Jim Francis | 8,685 | 3.2 | |
Libertarian | Howard Kearney | 2,806 | 1.0 | |
Independent | Frederick "Ferd" Jones | 2,442 | 0.9 | |
Total votes | 269,325 | 100.0 | ||
Republican hold |
References
- https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/cd_state.html
- https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=22&cd=01
- https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=22&cd=01
- "Partisan Voting Index – Districts of the 115th Congress" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
- Cook Partisan Voting Index
- Several residents of the northlake area (eastern Florida Parishes) served in Congress to represent the 6th congressional district before it ceded territory to the 1st congressional district.
- 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