Alabama's 7th congressional district

Coordinates: 32°33′5.2″N 87°52′17.04″W / 32.551444°N 87.8714000°W / 32.551444; -87.8714000

Alabama's 7th congressional district
Alabama's 7th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative Terri Sewell (DBirmingham)
Area 8,780 mi2
Distribution 72.2% urban, 27.8% rural
Population (2000) 635,300
Median income $26,672
Ethnicity 35.5% White, 61.7% Black, 0.6% Asian, 1.3% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% other
Occupation 28.6% blue collar, 53.4% white collar, 18% gray collar
Cook PVI D+20[1]

Alabama's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in Alabama that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. The district encompasses Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Pickens, Perry, Sumter and Wilcox counties, and portions of Clarke, Jefferson, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa counties. The district encompasses portions of the Birmingham, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa/Northport urban areas. The largest city entirely within the district is Selma.

The district has been majority-minority, with a majority of African-American residents, since the redistricting following the 1990 census. It is represented by Democrat Terri Sewell, who succeeded Artur Davis in 2010.

Character

Alabama's 7th Congressional District was first defined in 1843; it has continued since then with the exception of the years 1867-1873 during the Reconstruction era. The geographic area represented by this district has changed over time, depending upon the number of U.S. Representatives apportioned to Alabama. Around the turn of the 20th century, the district included the city of Gadsden. Over time, the district was redefined to include the area around Tuscaloosa. The last two representatives for the district before its reconfiguration as a majority-minority area were Richard Shelby (now Alabama's senior senator) and Claude Harris, both Tuscaloosa residents.

The shape of the current district was largely established in 1992, when it was reconstituted as a majority-minority district under provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended in 1982 to encourage greater representation for minorities in Congress.[2] Half of the western Alabama portion of the district was moved to the 4th district, and a large portion of Tuscaloosa County was moved into the 6th district, which had primarily been based around Birmingham. To counter the loss in population and to create the majority minority, many counties from the Black Belt region, a rural expanse in Alabama with a high proportion of African-American residents descended from workers on cotton plantations, were added to the district, as was an arm extending from Tuscaloosa roughly along the Interstate 20/59 corridor into Jefferson County to take in most of the black precincts of Birmingham. Most of Birmingham's white residents remained in the 6th District. The three representatives elected from the district following reconfiguration — Earl F. Hilliard, Artur Davis and Terri Sewell — have all been residents of Birmingham.

Mostly minor changes in the following two redistrictings have not substantially changed the shape of the district. But, western portions of Montgomery County have been restored to this district, including large swaths of inner-city Montgomery in the redistricting following the 2010 census. This area had earlier been removed after the 2000 census. The district contains urbanized areas of Birmingham, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, and ten of the fourteen rural counties in the Black Belt. Three of the state's largest colleges are located in the district: Alabama State University in Montgomery, the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Recent election results from statewide races

A majority of voters in the district are African Americans who support the Democratic Party and its candidates.

Year Office Results
2000 President Gore 66 - 33%
2004 President Kerry 64 - 35%
2008 President Obama 72 - 27%
2012 President Obama 72 - 27%

List of representatives

A graphical representation of party control of the district until 2006
Congress Representative Party Years Electoral history
District created March 4, 1843.
28th Congress
29th Congress
Felix G. McConnell Democratic March 4, 1843 –
September 10, 1846
Died.
29th Congress Vacant September 10, 1846 –
December 7, 1846
29th Congress
30th Congress
31st Congress
Franklin W. Bowdon Democratic December 7, 1846 –
March 3, 1851
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
32nd Congress Alexander White Whig March 4, 1851 –
March 3, 1853
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
33rd Congress James F. Dowdell Democratic March 4, 1853 –
March 3, 1855
Redistricted to the 3rd congressional district.
34th Congress Sampson W. Harris Democratic March 4, 1855 –
March 3, 1857
Redistricted from the 3rd congressional district.
35th Congress
36th Congress
Jabez L. M. Curry Democratic March 4, 1857 –
January 21, 1861
Withdrew.
36th Congress
37th Congress
January 21, 1861 – March 4, 1863 American Civil War.
District eliminated in 1863.
District re-established in 1877.
45th Congress
46th Congress
47th Congress
48th Congress
49th Congress
50th Congress
51st Congress
52nd Congress
William H. Forney Democratic March 4, 1877 –
March 4, 1893
Redistricted from the At-large district.
53rd Congress William H. Denson Democratic March 4, 1893 –
March 3, 1895
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
54th Congress
55th Congress
Milford W. Howard Populist March 4, 1895 –
March 3, 1899
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
56th Congress
57th Congress
58th Congress
59th Congress
60th Congress
61st Congress
62nd Congress
63rd Congress
64th Congress
65th Congress
66th Congress
John L. Burnett Democratic March 4, 1899 –
May 13, 1919
Died.
66th Congress Vacant May 13, 1919 –
September 30, 1919
66th Congress
67th Congress
Lilius Bratton Rainey Democratic September 30, 1919 –
March 3, 1923
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
68th Congress
69th Congress
70th Congress
71st Congress
72nd Congress
Miles C. Allgood Democratic March 4, 1923 –
March 3, 1933
Redistricted to the 5th congressional district.
73rd Congress
74th Congress
75th Congress
76th Congress
William B. Bankhead Democratic March 4, 1933 –
September 15, 1940
Redistricted from the 10th congressional district.

Died.
76th Congress Vacant September 15, 1940 –
November 5, 1940
76th Congress Zadoc L. Weatherford Democratic November 5, 1940 –
January 3, 1941
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
77th Congress Walter W. Bankhead Democratic January 3, 1941 –
February 1, 1941
Resigned.
77th Congress Vacant February 1, 1941 –
June 24, 1941
77th Congress
78th Congress
79th Congress
80th Congress
Carter Manasco Democratic June 24, 1941 –
January 3, 1949
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
81st Congress
82nd Congress
83rd Congress
84th Congress
85th Congress
86th Congress
87th Congress
Carl Elliott Democratic January 3, 1949 –
January 3, 1963
Redistricted to the At-large district.
88th Congress District inactive, all representatives elected At-large on a general ticket. January 3, 1963 –
January 3, 1965
89th Congress James D. Martin Republican January 3, 1965 –
January 3, 1967
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
90th Congress
91st Congress
92nd Congress
Tom Bevill Democratic January 3, 1967 –
January 3, 1973
Redistricted to the 4th congressional district.
93rd Congress
92nd Congress
95th Congress
Walter Flowers Democratic January 3, 1973 –
January 3, 1979
Redistricted from the 5th congressional district.
96th Congress
97th Congress
98th Congress
99th Congress
Richard C. Shelby Democratic January 3, 1979 –
January 3, 1987
Elected to U.S. Senate.
100th Congress
101st Congress
102nd Congress
Claude Harris, Jr. Democratic January 3, 1987 –
January 3, 1993
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
103rd Congress
104th Congress
105th Congress
106th Congress
107th Congress
Earl F. Hilliard Democratic January 3, 1993 –
January 3, 2003
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
108th Congress
109th Congress
110th Congress
111th Congress
Artur Davis Democratic January 3, 2003 –
January 3, 2011
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
112th Congress
113th Congress
114th Congress
Terri Sewell Democratic January 3, 2011 –
present
[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]

Recent election results

2002

Alabama's 7th congressional district election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Artur Davis 153,735 92.44%
Libertarian Lauren Orth McCay 12,100 7.28%
Write-in Write-ins 474 0.29%
Majority 141,635 85.16%
Total votes 166,309 100.00
Democratic hold

2004

Alabama's 7th congressional district election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Artur Davis (Incumbent) 183,408 74.97%
Republican Steve Cameron 61,019 24.94%
Write-in Write-ins 211 0.09%
Majority 122,389 50.03%
Total votes 244,638 100.00
Democratic hold

2006

Alabama's 7th congressional district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Artur Davis III (Incumbent) 133,870 99.04%
Write-in Write-ins 1,297 0.96%
Majority 132,573 98.08%
Total votes 135,167 100.00
Democratic hold

2008

Alabama's 7th congressional district election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Artur Davis (Incumbent) 228,518 98.63%
Write-in Write-ins 3,183 1.37%
Majority 225,335 97.26%
Total votes 231,701 100.00
Democratic hold

2010

Alabama's 7th congressional district election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Terri A. Sewell 136,223 72.42%
Republican Don Chamberlain 51,882 27.58%
Majority 84,341 44.84%
Total votes 188,105 100.00
Democratic hold

2012

Alabama's 7th congressional district election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Terri A. Sewell (Incumbent) 226,753 75.82%
Republican Don Chamberlain 72,304 24.18%
Majority 154,449 51.64%
Total votes 299,057 100.00
Democratic hold

2014

Alabama's 7th congressional district election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Terri Sewell (Incumbent) 133,687 98.4%
Write-in Write-ins 2,212 1.6%
Majority 131,475 96.8%
Total votes 135,899 100.00
Democratic hold

[3]


Living former Members

As of April 2015, there are three former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from this district who are living.

Representative Term in office Date of birth (and age)
James D. Martin 1965 - 1967 September 1, 1918
Earl F. Hilliard 1993 - 2003 April 9, 1942
Artur Davis 2003 - 2011 October 9, 1967

Historic district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

References

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Tennessee's 5th congressional district
Home district of the Speaker of the House
June 4, 1936 – September 15, 1940
Succeeded by
Texas's 4th congressional district
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