Arkansas's 1st congressional district
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| Arkansas's 1st congressional district | |
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| Area | 17,521 mi² (45,379 km²) |
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| Distribution | 44.5% urban, 55.5% rural |
| Population (2000) | 668,360 |
| Median income | $28,940 |
| Ethnic composition | 80.2% White, 16.6% Black, 0.3% Asian, 1.9% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American |
| Occupation | 35% blue collar, 48.8% white collar, 16.2% gray collar |
| Cook Partisan Voting Index | D + 1 |
Arkansas's First Congressional District is a U.S. congressional district in Arkansas, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It encompasses the counties of Baxter, Fulton, Sharp, Randolph, Clay, Izard, Lawrence, Greene, Searcy, Stone, Cleburne, Independence, Craighead, Jackson, Poinsett, Mississippi, Cross, Woodruff, Saint Francis, Lee, Phillips, Monroe, Arkansas, Prairie, Crittenden, and Lonoke.
It is currently represented by Democrat Marion Berry.
[edit] Character
The Mississippi Delta has long been home to American industrial agriculture, with cotton, rice and soybeans by far the biggest export from the region. The 1st District, covers most of the Arkansas Delta area, stretching as far west to the Ozarks. The farming areas, despite their fertility, are genearlly poor by national standards, with unemployment and undereducation as some of the greatest problems. Rice farms are the amongst the greatest recipients of federal farming subsidization - and three of the top five subsidy farms in the United States are in the first district, receiving over $100 million since 1996. The district is also notable for its large population of ducks.
Some manufacturing has been sited in the region recently, with several auto parts factories being built in Marion, and Toyota considering it as the site for its seventh North American plant.
Jonesboro is the largest town, being home to a sizable food processing industry, with companies such as Nestle and Frito-Lay sited here. Whilst Jonesboro itself sports a Republican trend, along with some of the hill counties, it is balanced by the strong Democratic presence in the black-dominated Delta. The result is a fairly closely divided vote in national politics - 50%-48% for Al Gore in 2000 but 52%-47% for George W. Bush in 2004. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of D +1.
| Party and Year | Representative |
|---|---|
| 1997 - present | Marion Berry |
| 1993 - 1997 | Blanche Lincoln |
| 1969 - 1993 | Bill Alexander, Jr. |
| 1939 - 1969 | Ezekiel C. Gathings |
| 1921 - 1939 | William J. Driver |
| 1913 - 1921 | Thaddeus H. Caraway |
| 1903 - 1913 | Robert B. Macon |
| 1893 - 1903 | Philip D. McCulloch, Jr. |
| 1891 - 1893 | William Henderson Cate |
| 1889 - 1891 | Lewis Porter Featherstone |
| 1889 | William Henderson Cate |
| 1879 - 1889 | Poindexter Dunn |
| 1875 - 1879 | Lucien Coatsworth Gause |
| 1873 - 1875 | Asa Hodges |
| 1871 - 1873 | James Millander Hanks |
| 1867 - 1871 | Logan Holt Roots |
| 1861 - 1867 | Civil War |
| 1859 - 1861 | Thomas Carmichael Hindman |
| 1853 - 1859 | Alfred Burton Greenwood |
| 1847 - 1853 | Robert Ward Johnson |
| 1845 - 1847 | Thomas Willoughby Newton |
| 1845 | Archibald Yell |
| 1839 - 1845 | Edward Cross |
| 1835 - 1839 | Archibald Yell |
| Arkansas's congressional districts |
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| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 The 5th-7th districts are obsolete See also: Arkansas's past & present Representatives, Senators, and Delegations All U.S. districts - Apportionment - Redistricting - Gerrymandering - Maps |
