Florida's 3rd congressional district is an electoral district of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

located in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It presently comprises a large section of northern Florida, including the entire counties of Alachua,

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

, Putnam, Bradford, and

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, along with the majority of Marion County. The cities of Gainesville and Palatka are in the district as well as part of

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

(its northern suburbs). Some

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

suburbs such as Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, and Orange Park are also in the district. 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 . 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 Ocala. The district has been represented by Republican

Kat Cammack Kathryn Christine Cammack ( ; born February 16, 1988) is an American politician and political advisor serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 3rd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, Cammack previously served as dep ...

since 2021. The old 3rd district was represented from 1993 through 2012 by

Corrine Brown Corrine Brown (born November 11, 1946) is an American former politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1993 to 2017 and a convicted felon. She is a member of the Democratic Party. After a court-ord ...

, who was elected to the similar new 5th district in the November 2012 elections.

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 neighborhood African-American neighborhoods or black neighborhoods are types of ethnic enclaves found in many cities in the United States. Generally, an African American neighborhood is one where the majority of the people who live there are African American ...

s in the cities of Sanford, Gainesville, Palatka, and finally the larger African American communities of

. 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 Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

received 73% of the vote in this district in the 2008 Presidential election.

General history of the district in its varying territories

Recent election results in statewide races

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Historical district boundaries

File:Florida US Congressional District 3 (since 2013).tif, File:FL03 109.gif,

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

Rep. Corrine Brown's official House of Representatives website
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