Mississippi's 5th congressional district

Mississippi's 5th congressional district existed from 1855 to 2003. The state was granted a fifth representative by Congress following the 1850 census.

From 1853 to 1855, the fifth representative was elected at-large instead of by district, favoring majority voters. The district was abolished by the state legislature following the 2000 census, when the state lost a seat.

Boundaries

Although the boundaries of the fifth congressional district were altered after every census, it covered the Gulf Coast region and most of the Pine Belt region in southeastern Mississippi from 1993 to 2003.

It included all of Forrest, George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Lamar, Pearl River, Perry, and Stone counties as well as a portion of Wayne County.

After it was abolished, most of the fifth district became part of the state's fourth congressional district.

2000 election

The district's last election took place on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Gene Taylor, who had represented the district since 1989, easily won re-election.

List of representatives

Representative	Took Office	Left Office	Party	District Home	Notes	Congress
District created March 4, 1855
John A. Quitman	March 4, 1855	July 17, 1858	Democratic		Died	34th - 35th
John Jones McRae	December 7, 1858	January 12, 1861	Democratic		Withdrew	35th - 36th
Civil War and Reconstruction						36th - 41st
Legrand Winfield Perce	February 23, 1870	March 3, 1873	Republican			41st - 42nd
George Colin McKee	March 4, 1873	March 3, 1875	Republican		Redistricted from the 4th district	43rd
Charles E. Hooker	March 4, 1875	March 3, 1883	Democratic			44th - 47th
Otho Robards Singleton	March 4, 1883	March 3, 1887	Democratic		Redistricted from the 4th district	48th - 49th
Chapman L. Anderson	March 4, 1887	March 3, 1891	Democratic			50th - 51st
Joseph Henry Beeman	March 4, 1891	March 3, 1893	Democratic			52nd
John Sharp Williams	March 4, 1893	March 3, 1903	Democratic		Redistricted to the 8th district	53rd - 57th
Adam M. Byrd	March 4, 1903	March 3, 1911	Democratic			58th - 61st
Samuel Andrew Witherspoon	March 4, 1911	November 24, 1915	Democratic		Died	62nd - 64th
William Webb Venable	January 4, 1916	March 3, 1921	Democratic			64th - 66th
Ross A. Collins	March 4, 1921	January 3, 1935	Democratic			67th - 73rd
Aubert C. Dunn	January 3, 1935	January 3, 1937	Democratic			74th
Ross A. Collins	January 3, 1937	January 3, 1943	Democratic			75th - 77th
W. Arthur Winstead	January 3, 1943	January 3, 1963	Democratic		Redistricted to the 4th district	78th - 87th
William M. Colmer	January 3, 1963	January 3, 1973	Democratic		Redistricted from the 6th district	88th - 92nd
Trent Lott	January 3, 1973	January 3, 1989	Republican			93rd - 100th
Larkin I. Smith	January 3, 1989	August 13, 1989	Republican		Died	101st
Gene Taylor	October 17, 1989	January 3, 2003	Democratic		Redistricted to the 4th district	101st - 107th
District inactive January 3, 2003 - Present

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