Alabama's 5th congressional district

"AL-5" redirects here. For the state route, see Alabama State Route 5.

Coordinates: 34°46′39.78″N 86°46′51.62″W / 34.7777167°N 86.7810056°W / 34.7777167; -86.7810056

Alabama's 5th congressional district
Alabama's 5th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative Mo Brooks (R–Huntsville)
Area 4,689 mi2
Distribution 59.4% urban, 40.6% rural
Population (2010) 696,690
Median income $38,054
Ethnicity 77.7% White, 16.9% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Hispanic, 0.9% Native American, 1.5% other
Occupation 29.6% blue collar, 57.1% white collar, 13.3% gray collar
Cook PVI R+17[1]

Alabama's 5th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It encompasses the counties of Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison, Morgan and most of Jackson.

It is currently represented by Republican Mo Brooks, a former Madison County Commissioner. Brooks was elected in 2010 after defeating Democrat-turned-Republican incumbent Parker Griffith in the 2010 Republican primary. Brooks later went on to defeat Democrat Steve Raby in the November general election.

Character

Two major economic projects have lastingly impacted the 5th District and have indelibly dictated the politics of North Alabama for most of the 20th Century. Before 1933, the Northern Alabama counties were characteristically poor, white and rural. The Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) arrival changed much of that, slowly transforming the demographic towards technical and engineering employees. The second major project was the space and rocketry programs including Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville where the first large U.S. Ballistic missiles were developed. Additionally, NASA built the Marshall Space Flight Center in the Huntsville-Decatur area during the 1960s. In the late 1950s Northern Alabama came to be dominated by the high-tech and engineering industries, a trend which has continued up to the present. In recent years, the United Launch Alliance has located its research center in Decatur. As a result, Huntsville has become the second largest and fastest growing metropolitan area in Alabama.

For a time, the district bucked the increasing Republican trend in Alabama. It was the only district in the state that supported Walter Mondale in 1984, but hasn't supported a Democrat for president since then. Democrats continue to hold most offices at the local level, and continued to hold most of the district's seats in the Alabama state legislature until the Republicans swept nearly all of north Alabama's seats in 2010. In the mid-1990s, it was a seriously contested seat, with longtime Democratic incumbent Bud Cramer winning reelection by only 1,770 votes in 1994. However, Cramer was elected five more times with 70 percent or more of the vote and even ran unopposed in the Democratic landslide year of 2006. Cramer did not seek reelection in 2008. Parker Griffith, a retired oncologist and State Senator, won the open seat in November 2008. However, in December 2009, Griffith became a Republican. Until Griffith's switch, the district had been one of the last in the former Confederacy to have not been held by a Republican to the U.S. Congress since Reconstruction. Griffith was ousted in the Republican primary by current Representative Mo Brooks.

George W. Bush won 60% of the vote in this district in 2004. John McCain also carried the 5th District in 2008 with 60.91% of the vote while Barack Obama received 37.99%.

Recent election results from statewide races

Year Office Results
2000 President Bush 54 - 44%
2004 President Bush 60 - 39%
2008 President McCain 61 - 38%
2012 President Romney 64 - 35%

List of representatives

A graphical representation of party control of the district
(1833-2006)
Congress Representative Party Years Electoral history
March 4, 1833 District created
23rd John Murphy Jacksonian March 4, 1833 –
March 3, 1835		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
24th Francis Strother Lyon Anti-Jacksonian March 4, 1835 –
March 3, 1837		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
25th Whig March 4, 1837 –
March 3, 1839		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
26th James Dellet Whig March 4, 1839 –
March 3, 1841		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
27th March 4, 1841 –
March 3, 1843		 District inactive, all representatives elected At-large on a general ticket
28th –
30th		 George S. Houston Democratic March 4, 1843 –
March 4, 1849		 Redistricted from the At-large district
31st David Hubbard Democratic March 4, 1849 –
March 3, 1851		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
32nd –
36th		 George S. Houston Democratic March 4, 1851 –
January 21, 1861		 Withdrew
37th –
39th		 (1861–1868) Civil War and Reconstruction
40th John Benton Callis Republican July 21, 1868 –
March 3, 1869		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
41st –
42nd		 Peter Myndert Dox Democratic March 4, 1869 –
March 3, 1873		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
43rd –
44th		 John Henry Caldwell Democratic March 4, 1873 –
March 3, 1877		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
45th Robert Fulwood Ligon Democratic March 4, 1877 –
March 3, 1879		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
46th –
48th		 Thomas Williams Democratic March 4, 1879 –
March 3, 1885		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
49th Thomas William Sadler Democratic March 4, 1885 –
March 3, 1887		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
50th –
54th		 James E. Cobb Democratic March 4, 1887 –
April 21, 1896		 Lost contested election
54th Albert Taylor Goodwyn Populist April 21, 1896 –
March 3, 1897		 Won contested election
55th –
56th		 Willis Brewer Democratic March 4, 1897 –
March 3, 1901		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
57th –
58th		 Charles Winston Thompson Democratic March 4, 1901 –
March 20, 1904		 Died
58th –
66th		 J. Thomas Heflin Democratic May 19, 1904 –
November 1, 1920		 Resigned to fill US Senate seat
66th –
70th		 William B. Bowling Democratic December 14, 1920 –
August 16, 1928		 Resigned after being appointed judge for 5th Alabama Circuit
70th –
71st		 LaFayette L. Patterson Democratic Nobvember 6, 1928 –
March 3, 1933		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
73rd Miles C. Allgood Democratic March 4, 1933 –
January 3, 1935		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
74th –
78th		 Joe Starnes Democratic January 3, 1935 –
January 3, 1945		 [Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
79th –
87th		 Albert Rains Democratic January 3, 1945 –
January 3, 1963		 Redistricted to the At-large district
88th January 3, 1963 –
January 3, 1965		 District inactive, all representatives elected At-large on a general ticket
89th –
91st		 Armistead I. Selden, Jr. Democratic January 3, 1965 –
January 3, 1969		 Redistricted from the At-large district
92nd Walter Flowers Democratic January 3, 1969 –
January 3, 1973		 Redistricted to the 7th district
93rd –
94th		 Robert E. Jones, Jr. Democratic January 3, 1973 –
January 3, 1977		 Redistricted from the 8th district
95th –
101st		 Ronnie G. Flippo Democratic January 3, 1977 –
January 3, 1991		 Retired from his seat to run for Governor of Alabama.
102nd –
110th		 Bud Cramer Democratic January 3, 1991 –
January 3, 2009		 Decided not to seek another term
111th Parker Griffith Democratic January 3, 2009 –
December 22, 2009		 Switched parties
Republican December 22, 2009 –
January 3, 2011		 Lost primary
112th –
114th		 Mo Brooks Republican January 3, 2011 –
present

Previous election results

2002

Alabama's 5th Congressional District House Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bud Cramer* 143,029 73.28%
Republican Stephen P. Engel 48,226 24.71%
Libertarian Alan F. Barksdale 3,772 1.93%
Write-in Write-ins 144 0.07%
Majority 94,803 48.57%
Total votes 195,171 100.00
Democratic hold

2004

Alabama's 5th Congressional District House Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bud Cramer* 200,999 72.97%
Republican Gerry Wallace 74,145 26.92%
Write-in Write-ins 315 0.11%
Majority 126,854 46.05%
Total votes 275,459 100.00
Democratic hold

2006

Alabama's 5th Congressional District House Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Bud Cramer* 143,015 98.25%
Write-in Write-ins 2,540 1.75%
Majority 140,475 96.50%
Total votes 145,555 100.00
Democratic hold

2008

Alabama's 5th Congressional District House Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Parker Griffith 158,324 51.52%
Republican Wayne Parker 147,314 47.94%
Write-in Write-ins 1,644 0.54%
Majority 11,010 3.58%
Total votes 307,282 100.00
Democratic hold

2010

Alabama's 5th Congressional District Republican Primary Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mo Brooks 35,746 50.81%
Republican Parker Griffith* 23,525 33.44%
Republican Les Phillip 11,085 15.76%
Majority 12,221 17.37%
Total votes 70,356 100.00
Alabama's 5th Congressional District House General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mo Brooks 131,109 57.94%
Democratic Steve Raby 95,192 42.06%
Majority 35,917 15.88%
Total votes 226,301 100.00
Republican gain from Democratic

2012

Alabama's 5th Congressional District House Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mo Brooks* 188,924 65.04%
Democratic Charlie L. Holley 101,536 43.96%
Majority 87,388 30.08%
Total votes 290,460 100.00
Republican hold

2014

Alabama's 5th Congressional District House Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mo Brooks* 115,338 74.4%
Democratic Mark Bray 39,305 25.2%
Majority 76,333 49.2%
Total votes 154,974 100.00
Republican hold

[2]

Living former Members

As of April 2015, there are three former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 5th congressional district that are currently living.

Representative Term in office Date of birth (and age)
Ronnie Flippo 1977 - 1991 August 15, 1937
Robert E. Cramer 1991 - 2009 August 22, 1947
Parker Griffith 2009 - 2011 August 6, 1942

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" (PDF). The Cook Political Report. 2012. Retrieved 2013-01-10.
  2. ↑ http://ballotpedia.org/Alabama%27s_5th_Congressional_District_elections,_2014
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