Indiana's 7th congressional district

Indiana's 7th congressional district
Indiana's 7th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative		André Carson (D–Indianapolis)
Area	265 mi2 (686 km2)
Distribution	99.7% urban, 0.3% rural
Population (2000)	675,674
Median income	$36,522
Ethnicity	63.0% White, 29.4% Black, 1.3% Asian, 4.4% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 1.7% other
Occupation	26.2% blue collar, 57.7% white collar, 16.1% gray collar
Cook PVI	D+9[1]

Indiana's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Indiana. Based in the heart of the state, the district encompasses most of Marion County and Indianapolis.

The district is currently represented by Democrat André Carson who won a special election in 2008 to succeed his grandmother Julia Carson following her death in 2007.

The district is one of only two congressional districts to be represented by a Muslim in the United States (the other being Keith Ellison of Minnesota's 5th congressional district, based in Minneapolis.

Characteristics

Prior to the 2002 redistricting, the district referred to a completely different area of Indiana, covering Fountain, Parke, Tippecanoe, Montgomery, Clinton, Boone, Hendricks, Vigo, Clay, Putnam, and Owen counties and parts of Morgan and Hamilton counties. The current area of the 7th Congressional District is largely the same as the now eliminated 10th Congressional District (including all of Center Township, now widely regarded as a Democratic stronghold due to its large African American population and gentrified middle class.)

Traditionally, the city and the district has been more competitive and much more Republican; in fact, one of the most Republican metropolitan areas in the country, particularly during the years when Richard Lugar and William H. Hudnut III served as Mayor of Indianapolis. However, in recent decades, much of the affluence of the city has begun to migrate to the edges of the city and outer Marion County, which has resulted in the Democratic lean. The northern edge of Marion county - an affluent, strongly conservative area - is not included in the district.

The southern and eastern parts of the district include the more modest neighborhoods of the city, which is home to Amtrak's largest repair yard. Since the late 1990s, there has been an influx of Mexican and Hispanic workers to the district, which has further increased its Democratic leanings. Also, as the industrial and financial center of Indiana, the district has been strongly influenced by the politics of the unions in the past; however, their influence over the district has become increasingly marginal in recent years.

In recent presidential contests, the district itself has given comfortable margins to Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama in recent years. Most recently in 2008, Barack Obama won 71% of the vote in the 7th Congressional District.

Redistricting

After the loss of a congressional seat in 2000 by virtue of that year's census, an ambitious redistricting plan was embarked upon, which was eventually implemented in 2002. The overall character of the district prior to this was solidly Republican and rural; however, since 2002, the previous area of the 7th Congressional District has been divided between the 4th Congressional District and the 8th Congressional District.

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	Electoral history
District created		March 4, 1833
Edward A. Hannegan	Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Albert S. White	Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Vacant		March 3, 1839 – August 5, 1839
Tilghman A. Howard	Democratic	August 5, 1839 – July 1, 1840	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Vacant		July 1, 1840 – August 3, 1840
Henry S. Lane	Whig	August 3, 1840 – March 3, 1843	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Joseph A. Wright	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Edward W. McGaughey	Whig	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Richard W. Thompson	Whig	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Edward W. McGaughey	Whig	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
John G. Davis	Democratic	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1855	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Harvey D. Scott	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
John G. Davis	Anti-Lecompton Democrat	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1861	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Daniel W. Voorhees	Democratic	March 4, 1861 – February 23, 1866	Lost contested election
Henry D. Washburn	Republican	February 23, 1866 – March 3, 1869	Won contested election
Godlove S. Orth	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	Redistricted from the 8th district.
Mahlon D. Manson	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1873	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Thomas J. Cason	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875	Redistricted to the 9th district.
Franklin Landers	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
John Hanna	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Gilbert De La Matyr	Greenback	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Stanton J. Peelle	Republican	March 4, 1881 – May 22, 1884	Lost contested election
William E. English	Democratic	May 22, 1884 – March 3, 1885	Won contested election
William D. Bynum	Democratic	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1895	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Charles L. Henry	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897	Redistricted to the 8th district.
Jesse Overstreet	Republican	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1909	Redistricted from the 5th district.
Charles A. Korbly	Democratic	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1915	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Merrill Moores	Republican	March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1925	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Ralph E. Updike	Republican	March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1929	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Louis Ludlow	Democratic	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933	Redistricted to the 12th district.
Arthur H. Greenwood	Democratic	March 3, 1933 – January 3, 1939	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Gerald W. Landis	Republican	January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1949	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
James E. Noland	Democratic	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1951	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
William G. Bray	Republican	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1967	Redistricted to the 6th district.
John T. Myers	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1997	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Edward A. Pease	Republican	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Brian D. Kerns	Republican	January 3, 2001 – January 3, 2003	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Julia Carson	Democratic	January 3, 2003 – December 15, 2007	Redistricted from the 10th district. Died.
Vacant		December 15, 2007 – March 11, 2008
André Carson	Democratic	March 11, 2008 – Present	First elected to finish Carson's term.

Election Results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

Living former Members

As of May 2015, two former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's 7th congressional district are alive.

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

The two different locations of the 7th district since 1982.

See also

• Indiana's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts
• Indiana's 7th congressional district election, 2006
• Indiana's 7th congressional district special election, 2008

References

• 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

Coordinates: 39°45′N 86°9′W / 39.750°N 86.150°W / 39.750; -86.150