North Carolina's 12th congressional district
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| North Carolina's 12th congressional district | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Current Representative | Alma Adams (D–Greensboro) | |
| Area | 827 mi2 | |
| Distribution | 88.5% urban, 11.5% rural | |
| Population (2000) | 619,178 | |
| Median income | $35,775 | |
| Ethnicity | 47.2% White, 44.6% Black, 2.1% Asian, 7.1% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% other | |
| Occupation | 32.1% blue collar, 51.9% white collar, 16.0% gray collar | |
| Cook PVI | D+23[1] | |
North Carolina's 12th congressional district is located in central North Carolina and comprises portions of Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Lexington, Salisbury, Concord, and High Point. It was one of two minority-majority Congressional districts created in the state in the 1990s. Since the 2000 census, it has had a small plurality of whites, though blacks make up a majority of its voting population.
North Carolina earlier had a twelfth seat in the House in the nineteenth century and in the mid-twentieth century (1943-1963).
Contents
Current district
The district was re-established after the 1990 United States Census, when North Carolina gained a House seat due to an increase in population. It was drawn in 1992 as one of two black majority (minority-majority) districts, designed to give blacks (who comprised 22% of the state's population at the time) the chance to elect a representative of their choice under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited dilution of voting power of minorities.[2] In its original configuration, this was a 64 percent black-majority district stretching from Gastonia to Durham. It was very long and so thin at some points that it was no wider than a highway lane, as it followed Interstate 85 almost exactly.[3][4]
It was criticized as a racially gerrymandered district. For instance, the Wall Street Journal described the district "political pornography." The United States Supreme Court ruled in Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993) that a racial gerrymander may, in some circumstances, violate the Equal Protection Clause.
The state legislature had defended the two minority-majority districts as based on demographics, with the 12th representing the interior Piedmont area and the 1st the Coastal Plain.[2] Subsequently, the 12th district was redrawn several times and was adjudicated in the Supreme Court on two additional occasions.[2] The version created after the 2000 census was approved by the US Supreme Court in Hunt v. Cromartie. The current version dates from the 2010 census; like the 2003-2013 version, it has a small plurality of whites. Blacks make up a large majority of registered voters and Hispanics constitute 7.1% of residents. In all its configurations, it has been a Democratic stronghold dominated by black voters in Charlotte and the Piedmont Triad.
List of representatives
| Representative | Party | Years | Electoral history | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1803 | |||||
 Joseph Winston |
Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1807 |
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 Meshack Franklin |
Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813 |
Redistricted to the 13th district | ||
 Israel Pickens |
Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1817 |
Redistricted from the 11th district | ||
| Felix Walker |
Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1823 |
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| Robert B. Vance |
Jacksonian D-R | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 |
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| Samuel P. Carson |
Jacksonian | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1833 |
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 James Graham |
Anti-Jacksonian | March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837 |
Seat declared vacant March 29, 1836 - December 5, 1836 | ||
| Whig | March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1843 |
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| District inactive March 3, 1843 | |||||
| District re-established January 3, 1943 | |||||
| Zebulon Weaver |
Democratic | January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1947 |
Redistricted from the 11th district | ||
| Monroe M. Redden |
Democratic | January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1953 |
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| George A. Shuford |
Democratic | January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1959 |
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| David M. Hall |
Democratic | January 3, 1959 – January 29, 1960 |
Died | ||
| Vacant | January 29, 1960 – June 25, 1960 |
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| 75px Roy A. Taylor | Democratic | June 25, 1960 – January 3, 1963 |
Redistricted to the 11th district | ||
| District inactive January 3, 1963 | |||||
| District re-established January 3, 1993 | |||||
 Mel Watt |
Democratic | January 3, 1993 – January 6, 2014 |
Resigned to become head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency | ||
| Vacant | January 6, 2014 – November 12, 2014 |
North Carolina's 12th congressional district special election, 2014 | |||
 Alma Adams |
Democratic | November 12, 2014 – |
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Election results
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Libertarian |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Melvin L. Watt: 98,821 | Jeff Kish: 49,588 | Carey Head: 2,830 |
| 2004 | Melvin L. Watt: 154,908 | Ada M. Fisher: 76,898 | |
| 2006 | Melvin L. Watt: 71,345 | Ada M. Fisher: 35,127 | |
| 2008 | Melvin L. Watt: 215,908 | Ty Cobb, Jr.: 85,814 | |
| 2010 | Melvin L. Watt: 103,495 | Greg Dority: 55,315 | Lon Cecil: 3,197 |
| 2012 | Melvin L. Watt: 247,591 | Jack Brosch: 63,317 |
Historical district boundaries
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See also
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 senate.leg.state.mn.us "North Carolina Redistricting Cases: the 1990s", National Conference of State Legislatures
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- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
External links
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