Louisiana's 1st congressional district

Louisiana's 1st congressional district
Current Representative		Steve Scalise (R–Jefferson)
Area	2,402 mi²
Distribution	79.66% urban, 20.34% rural
Population (2000)	638,355
Median income	$40,948
Ethnicity	82.6% White, 12.9% Black, 1.5% Asian, 4.7% Hispanic, 0.3% Native American, 1.2% other
Cook PVI	R+24

Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district comprises mostly land on the North Shore and South Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, although it also contains areas west of Lake Pontchartrain. The district includes some or all of the following parishes: Washington, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Jefferson, Orleans and St. Charles. It also includes the cities of Hammond and Slidell and most of the western suburbs of New Orleans that include Metairie and Kenner, along with a small portion of the city itself. The district has the lowest percentage of African American residents among the state's seven-district delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The district is currently represented by Republican Steve Scalise.

History

Prior to 1974 the 1st Congressional District was entirely south of Lake Pontchartrain; as a result of the 1970 U.S. Census and a concern to ensure that the 2nd Congressional District was majority African American, in 1974, the 1st Congressional District shed precincts south of the lake and acquired St. Tammany Parish, which borders Lake Pontchartrain on the north, from the 6th Congressional District. Subsequently, the 1st Congressional District has acquired Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, both north of the lake, from the 6th Congressional District.

Correspondingly, the 1st Congressional District has shed conservative St. Bernard Parish and other areas south of the lake to the 3rd Congressional District, but overall, the 1st Congressional District has become a very safe district for the Republican Party. 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. 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 most recently held by current Governor Bobby Jindal. Republicans have held the seat since 1977, when 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.

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
District created March 4, 1823
Edward Livingston	Jacksonian D-R	March 4, 1823 - March 3, 1825	La Nouvelle Orléans
	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 - March 3, 1829
Edward Douglass White Sr.	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 - ?????, 1834	Donaldsonville	Resigned
Vacant		??????, 1834 - ??????, 1834
Henry Johnson	Anti-Jacksonian	????, 1834 – March 3, 1837	Donaldsonville
	Whig	March 4, 1837 - March 3, 1839
Edward Douglass White Sr.	Whig	March 4, 1839 - March 3, 1843	Donaldsonville
John Slidell	Democratic	March 4, 1843 - November 10, 1845	La Nouvelle Orléans	Resigned
Emile La Sére	Democratic	January 29, 1846 - March 3, 1851	La Nouvelle Orléans
Louis St. Martin	Democratic	March 4, 1851 - March 3, 1853	La Nouvelle Orléans and Saint Charles Parish
William Dunbar	Democratic	March 4, 1853 - March 3, 1855	Saint Bernard Parish
George Eustis Jr.	Know Nothing	March 4, 1855 - March 3, 1859	La Nouvelle Orléans
J. E. Bouligny	Know Nothing	March 4, 1859 - March 3, 1861	La Nouvelle Orléans; Washington, DC	Bouligny opposed Louisiana's secession and remained in Washington during the American 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		Remained seated for his term during War
Vacant		March 3, 1863 - July 18, 1868	(Civil War - Louisiana under occupation)
Jacob Hale Sypher	Republican	July 18, 1868 - March 3, 1869	New Orleans
Vacant		March 3, 1869 - November 7, 1870	contested election of Louis St. Martin and Jacob Hale Sypher, House decided neither candidate entitled to seat
Jacob Hale Sypher	Republican	November 7, 1870 - March 3, 1875	New Orleans	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 4, 1875) remained in the 1873-1875 term, and in the meantime Lawrence had lost the 1874 election to Democrat Randall Lee Gibson.
Effingham Lawrence	Democratic	March 4, 1875 - March 4, 1875	New Orleans	Successfully contested Sypher's election, then retired after 1 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	New Orleans	Retired from House on election to U.S. Senate.
Carleton Hunt	Democratic	March 4, 1883 - March 3, 1885	New Orleans
Louis St. Martin	Democratic	March 4, 1885 - March 3, 1887	Saint Charles Parish
Theodore Stark Wilkinson	Democratic	March 4, 1887 - March 3, 1891	Pointe Celeste Plantation in Plaquemines Parish
Adolph Meyer	Democratic	March 4, 1891 - March 8, 1908	New Orleans	Died
Vacant		March 8, 1908 - November 3, 1908
Albert Estopinal	Democratic	November 3, 1908 - April 28, 1919	New Orleans	Died
Vacant		April 28, 1919 - June 5, 1919
James O'Connor	Democratic	June 5, 1919 - March 3, 1931	New Orleans	Lost renomination
Joachim O. Fernandez	Democratic	March 4, 1931 - January 3, 1941	New Orleans	Lost renomination
Felix Edward Hébert	Democratic	January 3, 1941 - January 3, 1977	New Orleans	Retired
Richard Alvin Tonry	Democratic	January 3, 1977 - May 4, 1977	Chalmette	Resigned
Vacant		May 4, 1977 - August 27, 1977
Bob Livingston	Republican	August 27, 1977 - March 1, 1999	Metairie	Resigned
Vacant		March 2, 1999 - May 29, 1999
David Vitter	Republican	May 29, 1999 - January 3, 2005	Metairie	Retired, elected U.S. Senator
Bobby Jindal	Republican	January 3, 2005 - January 14, 2008	Kenner	Retired, elected Governor
Vacant		January 14, 2008 – May 3, 2008
Steve Scalise	Republican	May 3, 2008 – Present	Metairie	Incumbent

Recent Election Results

2002

Louisiana's 1st Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	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%
Totals			180,570	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2004

Louisiana's 1st Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	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%
Totals			287,897	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2006

Louisiana's 1st Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	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%
Totals			148,128	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2008

Louisiana's 1st Congressional District Special Election (May 3, 2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	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%
Totals			45,075	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Louisiana's 1st Congressional District General Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Steve Scalise*	189,168	65.68%
	Democratic	Jim Harlan	98,839	34.32%
Totals			288,007	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2010

Louisiana's 1st Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Republican	Steve Scalise*	157,182	78.52%
	Democratic	Myron Katz	38,416	19.19%
	Independent	Arden Wells	4,578	2.29%
Totals			200,176	100.00%
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

References

• 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