Arkansas's 1st congressional district
Arkansas's 1st congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in eastern Arkansas that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It is currently represented by Republican Rick Crawford. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+21, it is the most Republican district in Arkansas, a state with an all-Republican congressional delegation.[2]
| Arkansas's 1st congressional district | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Representative |
| ||
| Area | 17,521 sq mi (45,380 km2) | ||
| Distribution |
| ||
| Population (2019) | 719,048[1] | ||
| Median household income | $43,193[1] | ||
| Ethnicity |
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| Occupation |
| ||
| Cook PVI | R+21[2] | ||
Geography
2003–2013
Before the 2010 census, the 1st district represented portions of northeastern Arkansas, encompassing the counties of Arkansas, Baxter, Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, Randolph, Saint Francis, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, and Woodruff.
2013–2023
The district took in additional counties in the southeastern portion that were part of the 4th district which in turn took the entire eastern Arkansas border. It fully encompasses the counties of Arkansas, Baxter, Chicot, Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, Randolph, Saint Francis, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, and Woodruff. The district also encompasses parts of Jefferson county.
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 and stretches as far west to the Ozarks. The farming areas, despite their fertility, are generally 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 1st District, receiving over $100 million since 1996.
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, home to a sizable food processing industry with companies such as Nestle and Frito-Lay sited here. Jonesboro is also home to Arkansas State University (ASU)-Jonesboro. While Jonesboro itself sports a Republican trend, along with some of the hill counties, it is balanced by the strong Democratic presence in the African American-dominated Mississippi River Delta.
Until recently, this resulted is a fairly closely divided vote in national politics. However, the district has been swept up in the growing Republican trend in Arkansas. While Al Gore narrowly carried the district in 2000 with 50% of the vote, George W. Bush won the district in 2004. The district swung even more Republican in 2008, giving John McCain 58.69% of the vote while Barack Obama received 38.41% here. The Republican vote has steadily increased since then, culminating in Donald Trump tallying 65 percent of the vote in 2016, his best showing in the state.
Recent election results from statewide races
| Year | Office | Results |
| 2000 | President | Bush 51 - 45% |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | President | Bush 54 - 44% |
| 2008 | President | McCain 59 - 38% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 61 - 36% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 65 - 30% |
| 2020 | President | Trump 69 - 28% |
List of members representing the district
The district was created in 1853 after the 1850 United States Census added a second seat to the state. The at-large seat then was split between this district and the second district.
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Recent election results
2002
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert Marion Berry* | 129,701 | 67% | ||
| Republican | Tommy F. Robinson | 64,357 | 33% | ||
| Majority | 65,344 | 33% | |||
| Total votes | 194,058 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
2004
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert Marion Berry* | 162,388 | 67% | ||
| Republican | Vernon Humphrey | 81,556 | 33% | ||
| Majority | 80,832 | 33% | |||
| Total votes | 243,944 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
2006
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert Marion Berry* | 127,577 | 69% | ||
| Republican | Mickey Stumbaugh | 56,611 | 31% | ||
| Majority | 70,966 | 39% | |||
| Total votes | 184,188 | 100.00% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
2008
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert Marion Berry* | 124,304 | 100% | ||
| Majority | 100% | ||||
| Total votes | 124,304 | 100% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
2010
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Crawford | 93,224 | 52% | ||
| Democratic | Chad Causey | 78,267 | 43% | ||
| Green | Ken Adler | 8,320 | 5% | ||
| Write-In | Write-ins | 205 | 0.11% | ||
| Majority | 14,957 | 9% | |||
| Total votes | 180,016 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican gain from Democratic | |||||
2012
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Crawford* | 138,800 | 56% | ||
| Democratic | Scott Ellington | 96,601 | 39% | ||
| Libertarian | Jessica Paxton | 6,427 | 3% | ||
| Green | Jacob Holloway | 5,015 | 2% | ||
| Majority | 42,199 | 17.10% | |||
| Total votes | 246,843 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
2014
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Crawford* | 124,139 | 63% | ||
| Democratic | Jackie McPherson | 63,555 | 32% | ||
| Libertarian | Brian Scott Willhite | 8,562 | 5% | ||
| Majority | 60,584 | 31% | |||
| Total votes | 196,256 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
2016
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Crawford* | 183,866 | 76.28% | ||
| Libertarian | Mark West | 57,181 | 23.72% | ||
| Majority | 126,685 | 52.56% | |||
| Total votes | 241,047 | 100.00% | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
2018
The 2018 election was held on November 6, 2018.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Crawford (incumbent) | 138,757 | 68.9 | |
| Democratic | Chintan Desai | 57,907 | 28.8 | |
| Libertarian | Elvis Presley | 4,581 | 2.3 | |
| Total votes | 201,245 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2020
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rick Crawford (incumbent) | 237,596 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 237,596 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
Notes
Arkansas will hold their Primary Elections on May 24, 2022 – a process which the State of Arkansas calls a Preferential Primary Election. If no candidate in a contested Primary Election receives 50% of the vote or more of the vote, than a Runoff Primary Election will be held on June 21, 2022 – a process which the State of Arkansas calls a General Primary Election.[5][6]
There are currently three declared candidates for Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District for the 2022 Election Cycle.[7]
| 2022 Arkansas’ 1st Congressional District Primary Elections | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Republican | Rick Crawford * | TBD | TBD |
| Republican | Brandt Smith | TBD | TBD |
| Democratic | Monte Hodges | TBD | TBD |
The incumbent office holder is denoted by an *. Any rumored candidates are denoted by an +.
Arkansas will hold their General Election on November 8, 2022. If no candidate in a contested General Election race receives 50% or more of the vote, than a General Runoff Election will be held on December 8, 2022.[5][6]
References
- Specific
- "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
- "Introducing the 2021 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index". The Cook Political Report. April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
- Welch, Melanie. "William Henderson Cate (1839–1899)". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- 2016 election results
- "Arkansas Secretary of State". www.sos.arkansas.gov. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- "FairVote - States Using Runoffs for Statewide or Federal Office". archive.fairvote.org. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- Gunzburger, Ron. "Politics1 - Online Guide to Arkansas Politics". politics1.com. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- General
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present