Florida's 3rd congressional district

Florida's 3rd congressional district
Florida's third congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Representative	Ted Yoho R–Gainesville
Area	3,844 sq mi (9,960 km2)
Cook PVI	R+12

The Third Congressional District of Florida is an electoral district of the United States House of Representatives located in the U.S. state of Florida. It presently comprises a large section of northernmost Florida, including the entire counties of Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee, and Union, along with the majority of Alachua and Clay counties, half of Madison county, and a section of Marion county. The city of Lake City is in the district, as well as the western half of Gainesville, and the western suburbs of Ocala.

Redistricting in Florida, effective for the 2012 federal elections, radically altered the nature of the 3rd District. From 1993 through 2012 the district called the 3rd District comprised an entirely different territory, roughly similar to the 5th District as of 2013. Likewise the present territory of the new 3rd District, as of the 2012 elections, is made up of parts of the former 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th districts, though it is geographically similar to the pre-2013 6th district. The former 3rd District was (and present 5th District is) an intentionally gerrymandered territory designed to unite disparate areas of northeastern Florida with significant African-American populations into a black-majority district, and was overwhelmingly Democratic in voting patterns.

The new 3rd District has a majority white population, largely in rural areas and small towns. The only cities of any size in the district are Gainesville and Lake City. It is one of the most Republican districts in the South, and among Florida districts, only the 1st is more Republican.

The new 3rd District is represented by Republican Ted Yoho, elected on November 6, 2012, and taking office on January 3, 2013. The old 3rd District was represented from 1993 through 2012 by Corrine Brown, who was elected to the similar new 5th District in the November 2012 elections.

The 1993–2012 black majority district

The old 3rd district was a gerrymandered congressional district. The district included portions of Alachua, Clay, Duval, Lake, Marion, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, and Volusia counties.

History

While Florida has had at least three congressional districts since the 1900 U.S. Census, the 1993–2012 3rd Congressional District dates to reapportionment done by the Florida Legislature after the 1990 U.S. Census. Because Florida has a large population of African Americans, but not a large enough concentration anywhere in the state to easily configure a congressional district with a majority, there were several attempts to create a few gerrymandered districts which were certain to elect an African American candidate. This created an odd coalition of black Democrats and Republicans who supported such districts (since this not only created black-majority districts, but also made "safer" Republican districts elsewhere). This effort was opposed by many white Democrats, but eventually this idea won the support of the state legislature and this district was created as a result.

The 1993–2012 3rd Congressional District was geographically diverse. Starting from the southern part of the district, it included the Pine Hills area of the Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Area with small pockets of African-American neighborhoods in the cities of Sanford, Gainesville, Palatka, and finally the larger African American communities of Jacksonville. Connecting these areas were regions which are sparsely populated—either expansive rural areas or narrow strips which are only a few miles wide. Barack Obama received 73% of the vote in this district in the 2008 Presidential election.

Voting

Election results from presidential races
Year	Office	Results
1992	President	Clinton 52–34%
1996	President	Clinton 61–33%
2000	President	Gore 60–38%
2004	President	Kerry 65–35%
2008	President	Obama 73–26%

Voter registration

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Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of January 3, 2012
Party		Voters	Percentage
Republican	69,212	19.76%
Democratic	218,371	62.35%
No Party Affiliation	54,531	15.57%

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Notes
District created March 4, 1903
William B. Lamar	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1909
Dannite H. Mays	Democratic	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913
Emmett Wilson	Democratic	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917
Walter Kehoe	Democratic	March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919
John H. Smithwick	Democratic	March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1927
Tom A. Yon	Democratic	March 4, 1927 – March 3, 1933
Millard F. Caldwell	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1941
Robert L. F. Sikes	Democratic	January 3, 1941 – October 19, 1944		Resigned to enter US Army
Vacant until next Congress		October 19, 1944 – January 3, 1945
Robert L. F. Sikes	Democratic	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1963		Redistricted to the 1st district
Claude Pepper	Democratic	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1967		Redistricted to the 11th district
Charles E. Bennett	Democratic	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1993		Redistricted from the 2nd district
Corrine Brown	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2013		Redistricted to the 5th district
Ted Yoho	Republican	January 3, 2013 – present

Election results

2002

Florida's 3rd Congressional District Election (2002)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Corrine Brown*	88,462	59.29
	Republican	Jennifer Carroll	60,747	40.71
Total votes			149,209	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2004

Florida's 3rd Congressional District Election (2004)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Corrine Brown*	172,833	99.24
	No party	Others	1,323	0.76
Total votes			174,156	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2006

Florida's 3rd Congressional District Election (2006)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Corrine Brown*		100.00
Total votes				100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2008

Florida's 3rd Congressional District Election (2008)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Corrine Brown*		100.00
Total votes				100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

2010

Florida's 3rd Congressional District Election (2010)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Corrine Brown*	94,744	63.04
	Republican	Mike Yost	50,932	33.89
	Independent	Terry Martin-Back	4,625	3.08
Total votes			150,301	100.00
Turnout
	Democratic hold

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

Living former Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 3rd congressional district

As of January 2017, there is one former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 3rd congressional district who is currently living at this time.

Representative	Term in office	Date of birth (and age)
Corrine Brown	1993–2003	(1946-11-11) November 11, 1946

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

External links

• Rep. Corrine Brown's official House of Representatives website