Alabama's 7th congressional district
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Alabama's 7th congressional district | ||
---|---|---|
Alabama's 7th congressional district - since January 3, 2013. | ||
Current Representative | Terri Sewell (D–Birmingham) | |
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.
Contents
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.[citation needed]
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
Recent election results
2002
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
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 |
Living former Members
As of April 2015[update], 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
See also
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references>
tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />
, or <references group="..." />
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
United States House of Representatives | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Home district of the Speaker of the House June 4, 1936 – September 15, 1940 |
Succeeded by Texas's 4th congressional district |
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://ballotpedia.org/Alabama%27s_7th_Congressional_District_elections,_2014
- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from July 2015
- Articles containing potentially dated statements from April 2015
- Congressional districts of Alabama
- Choctaw County, Alabama
- Clarke County, Alabama
- Dallas County, Alabama
- Greene County, Alabama
- Hale County, Alabama
- Jefferson County, Alabama
- Lowndes County, Alabama
- Marengo County, Alabama
- Montgomery County, Alabama
- Pickens County, Alabama
- Perry County, Alabama
- Sumter County, Alabama
- Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
- Wilcox County, Alabama
- Constituencies established in 1843
- 1843 establishments in Alabama
- Constituencies disestablished in 1861
- 1861 disestablishments in Alabama
- Constituencies established in 1868
- 1868 establishments in Alabama
- Constituencies disestablished in 1963
- 1963 disestablishments in Alabama
- Constituencies established in 1965
- 1965 establishments in Alabama