Louisiana's 1st congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

in the U.S. state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. The district comprises land from the northern shore of

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from w ...

south to the Mississippi River delta. It covers most of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

' suburbs, as well as a sliver of New Orleans itself. The district is currently represented by Republican House minority whip Steve Scalise. It has a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

rating of R+22, making it the most Republican district in Louisiana.

History

Prior to 1974, the 1st congressional district was entirely south of Lake Pontchartrain. As a result of population changes reflected in the 1970 U.S. Census and a concern to ensure that the 2nd congressional district was majority African American, the district was redrawn to include the Northshore. This was done to comply with the Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965 to enforce constitutional rights of minorities in voting, including the opportunity to elect a representative of their choosing and to redistrict after censuses. In 1974, the state legislature redefined the 1st congressional district, dropping its precincts south of the lake and adding St. Tammany Parish, which borders Lake Pontchartrain on the north, from the 6th congressional district. Subsequently, the 1st congressional district acquired Tangipahoa and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

parishes, both north of the lake, from the 6th congressional district. Correspondingly, the 1st congressional district shed conservative

St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (french: Paroisse de Saint-Bernard; es, Parroquia de San Bernardo) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of t ...

and other areas south of the lake to the 3rd congressional district from 1984 through 2013. Overall, the 1st congressional district has become a very safe district for the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

. Before the 1960s, it was controlled by Democrats, but conservative whites realigned with the Republican Party. The number of registered voters north of the lake is, as of 2008, slightly higher than south of the lake; however, the 1st congressional district has yet to be represented by a resident from north of Lake Pontchartrain.Several residents of the northlake area (eastern Florida Parishes) served in Congress to represent the 6th congressional district before it ceded territory to the 1st congressional district. The reformulation of the 1st congressional district so that it virtually surrounds "the nation's second-largest saltwater lake" has generated a local joke that in the 1st congressional district of Louisiana, the voters are outnumbered by the fish. The seat was previously held by former

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Bobby Jindal, who was elected after David Vitter retired to successfully run for the U.S. Senate. Republicans have held the seat since 1977. That year Bob Livingston won a special election after Richard Alvin Tonry, who won the seat in 1976, was forced to resign the seat and lost the Democratic primary in the special election. From 2003 to 2013, the district comprised mostly land on the North Shore and South Shore of

, although it also contained areas west of Lake Pontchartrain. The district included some or all of the following parishes:

, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Jefferson, Orleans and St. Charles. It also included the cities of Hammond and Slidell and most of the western suburbs of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, including Metairie and Kenner, along with a small portion of the city itself. The district had the lowest percentage of

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

residents among the state's six-district Congressional delegation. In 2013, St. Bernard and neighboring Plaquemines Parishes were returned to the first district after nearly 30 years in the Third. The First also picked up much of Lafourche Parish and the southernmost portion of

Terrebonne Parish Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 111,860, and 110,461 in 2019. In 2020, its population declined to 109,5 ...

for the first time.

Recent presidential elections

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

References

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Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louisiana's 1st Congressional District 01 Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Orleans Parish, Louisiana Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana St. Charles Parish, Louisiana St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Washington Parish, Louisiana 1823 establishments in Louisiana