Louisiana's 4th congressional district

Louisiana's 4th congressional district
Louisiana's 4th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative		John C. Fleming (R–Minden)
Distribution	59.24% urban, 40.76% rural
Population (2000)	638,466
Median income	$31,085
Ethnicity	73.0% White, 18.5% Black, 1.2% Asian, 5.0% Hispanic, 1.5% Native American, 0.8% other
Cook PVI	R+21[1]

Louisiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district is located in the northwestern part of the state and is based in Shreveport-Bossier City. It also includes the cities of Minden, DeRidder, and Natchitoches.

The district is represented by Republican John C. Fleming.

History

The 4th Congressional District was created in 1843, the first new district in the state in 20 years. It was gained after the 1840 U.S. Census.

For most of the next 150 years, the 4th was centered on Shreveport and northwestern Louisiana. However, in 1993, Louisiana lost a congressional district. Based on population figures, the state legislature shifted most of Shreveport's white residents into the 5th Congressional District. Republican Jim McCrery ran for election in the new 5th and won.

Meanwhile, the 4th was reconfigured as a 63-percent African American-majority district stretching in a roughly "Z" shape from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. Democrat Cleo Fields was elected for two terms as the representative of the 4th Congressional District. When the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated the boundaries of the new 4th Congressional District as unconstitutional, the Louisiana legislature redrew the District to encompass most of Northwest Louisiana, closely resembling its pre-1993 configuration. McCrery was elected in 1996 to this seat.

List of representatives

Name	Years	Party	District residence	Notes
District created March 4, 1843
Pierre Evariste Jean-Baptiste Bossier	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – April 24, 1844	Natchitoches	Died
Vacant		April 24, 1844 – December 2, 1844
Isaac Edward Morse	Democratic	December 2, 1844 – March 3, 1851	St. Martinville
John Moore	Whig	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	Franklin
Roland Jones	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	Shreveport
John M. Sandidge	Democratic	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859	Bossier City
John M. Landrum	Democratic	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	Shreveport	Did not seek re-election as Civil War loomed
Civil War and Reconstruction
Michel Vidal	Republican	July 18, 1868 – March 3, 1869	Opelousas	Appointed U.S. consul to Tripoli, Libya
Vacant		March 4, 1869 – May 23, 1870
Joseph P. Newsham	Republican	May 23, 1870 – March 3, 1871	St. Francisville	Successfully contested election of Michael Ryan to the 41st Congress, Did not seek re-election
James McCleery	Republican	March 4, 1871 – November 5, 1871	Shreveport	Died
Vacant		November 5, 1871 – December 3, 1872
Alexander Boarman	Liberal Republican	December 3, 1872 – March 3, 1873	Shreveport	Went on to other political involvements
Vacant		March 4, 1873 – November 24, 1873
George Luke Smith	Republican	November 24, 1873 – March 3, 1875	Shreveport	Elected in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative-elect Samuel Peters
William Mallory Levy	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	Natchitoches	Failed to be renominated by the Democrats
Joseph Barton Elam	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1881	Mansfield	Injured in a stagecoach accident, left Congress, returned to practice of law
Newton C. Blanchard	Democratic	March 4, 1881 – March 12, 1894	Shreveport	Resigned, appointed to the United States Senate.
Vacant		March 12, 1894 – May 12, 1894
Henry Warren Ogden	Democratic	May 12, 1894 – March 3, 1899	Benton	Preferred farming and went back to it
Phanor Breazeale	Democratic	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1905	Natchitoches	Lost Democratic primary to John T. Watkins
John T. Watkins	Democratic	March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1921	Minden	Lost Democratic primary to John N. Sandlin
John N. Sandlin	Democratic	March 4, 1921 – January 3, 1937	Minden	Unsuccessfully sought U.S. Senate seat
Overton Brooks	Democratic	January 3, 1937 – September 16, 1961	Shreveport	Died
Vacant		September 16, 1961 – December 19, 1961
Joe Waggonner, Jr.	Democratic	December 19, 1961 – January 3, 1979	Plain Dealing	Retired from Congress
Buddy Leach	Democratic	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981	Leesville	Defeated by Buddy Roemer
Buddy Roemer	Democratic[2]	January 3, 1981 – March 14, 1988	Bossier City	Resigned to become Governor
Vacant		March 14, 1988 – April 16, 1988
Jim McCrery	Republican	April 16, 1988 – January 3, 1993	Shreveport	Won special election to fill remainder of Roemer's term Redistricted to 5th district
Cleo Fields	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997	Baton Rouge	Redistricted in a way adverse to Fields' continuation
Jim McCrery	Republican	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2009	Shreveport	Redistricted from 5th district, Retired from Congress
John C. Fleming	Republican	January 3, 2009 – Present	Minden

Recent election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

• Louisiana's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

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: 31°47′31″N 93°10′47″W / 31.79194°N 93.17972°W / 31.79194; -93.17972