Maryland's 4th congressional district

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Maryland's 4th congressional district
Area 318 mi²
Distribution 97.9% urban, 2.1% rural
Population (2000) 662,062
Median income $57,727
Ethnic composition 27.6% White, 56.8% Black, 5.6% Asian, 7.5% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% other
Occupation 15.0% blue collar, 70.7% white collar, 14.3% gray collar
Cook PVI D+30

The Fourth Congressional District of Maryland elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives every two years. The district comprises portions of Prince George's and Montgomery County. The seat is currently represented by Albert Wynn (D), but Wynn lost his most recent Democratic primary run to challenger Donna Edwards and has announced that he will step down in June in hopes a special election will boost Edwards to office[1]. This move would allow Edwards to run as an incumbent in the general election [1]. The district is located in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and has the largest African-American middle class community of any Congressional district in the United States. It is one example of several "gerrymandered" districts in Maryland, although the federal Voting Rights Act requires creative line-drawing so as to create black-majority districts. Though challenged in court, the Maryland courts have dismissed these claims several times.[2],[3] On March 27, 2008, Wynn announced his resignation from Congress effective in June.[4] Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley set a special election for June 17, 2008 to fill the 4th's seat before the General election[5].

Contents

[edit] Recent elections

[edit] Historical boundaries and population

Maryland's fourth congressional district was one of the about 50 original congressional districts that elected representatives to the First Congress of the United States of America. When it was organized in 1788 it covered Baltimore, Baltimore County and Harford County. It had a population of 53,913 nearly 20% of whom were slaves at the time of the first U.S. census in 1790.[6].

In 1792 The fourth district was moved to Western Maryland, with its eastern boundary being a north to south line running about the mid-point of Frederick County, Maryland. The new district had an 1790 population of 36,026, with less than 10% of the population being slaves. [7] The boundaries remained unchanged in 1802, and the 1800 census population was 38.015.[8]

[edit] List of representatives

Name Took office Left office Party
1 William Smith March 4, 1789 March 3, 1791
2 Samuel Sterett March 4, 1791 March 3, 1793
3 Thomas Sprigg March 4, 1793 March 3, 1797 Federalist
4 George Baer, Jr. March 4, 1797 March 3, 1801 Federalist
5 Daniel Hiester March 4, 1801 March 7, 1804 Democratic-Republican
6 Roger Nelson November 6, 1804 May 14, 1810 Democratic-Republican
7 Samuel Ringgold October 15, 1810 March 3, 1815 Democratic-Republican
8 George Baer, Jr. March 4, 1815 March 3, 1817 Federalist
9 Samuel Ringgold March 4, 1817 March 3, 1821 Democratic-Republican
10 John Nelson March 4, 1821 March 3, 1823
11 John Lee March 4, 1823 March 3, 1825
12 Thomas C. Worthington March 4, 1825 March 3, 1827
13 Michael C. Sprigg March 4, 1827 March 3, 1831 Jacksonian
14 Francis Thomas March 4, 1831 March 3, 1833 Jacksonian
15 James P. Heath March 4, 1833 March 3, 1835 Jacksonian
In 1835, the Fourth District gained a second representative, and thus elected two representatives for each Congressional term:
16 Benjamin C. Howard March 4, 1835 March 3, 1839 Jacksonian
17 Isaac McKim March 4, 1835 April 1, 1838 Jacksonian
18 John P. Kennedy April 25, 1838 March 3, 1839 Whig
19 Solomon Hillen March 4, 1839 March 3, 1841 Democrat
20 James Carroll March 4, 1839 March 3, 1841 Democrat
21 Alexander Randall March 4, 1841 March 3, 1843 Whig
22 John P. Kennedy March 4, 1841 March 3, 1843 Whig
After 1843, the district reverted back to electing just one representative:
23 John P. Kennedy March 4, 1843 March 3, 1845 Whig
24 William Fell Giles March 4, 1845 March 3, 1847 Democrat
25 Robert Milligan McLane March 4, 1847 March 3, 1851 Democrat
26 Thomas Yates Walsh March 4, 1851 March 3, 1853 Whig
27 William Thomas Hamilton March 4, 1853 March 3, 1855 Democrat
28 Henry Winter Davis March 4, 1855 March 3, 1861 American
29 Henry May March 4, 1861 March 3, 1863 Union
30 Francis Thomas March 4, 1863 March 3, 1869 Unconditional Unionist, Republican
31 Patrick Hamill March 4, 1869 March 3, 1871 Democrat
32 John Ritchie March 4, 1871 March 3, 1873 Democrat
33 Thomas Swann March 4, 1873 March 3, 1879 Democrat
34 Robert Milligan McLane March 4, 1879 March 3, 1883 Democrat
35 John Van Lear Findlay March 4, 1883 March 3, 1887 Democrat
36 Isidor Rayner March 4, 1887 March 3, 1889 Democrat
37 Henry Stockbridge, Jr. March 4, 1889 March 3, 1891 Republican
38 Isidor Rayner March 4, 1891 March 3, 1895 Democrat
39 John Kissig Cowen March 4, 1895 March 3, 1897 Democrat
40 William Watson McIntire March 4, 1897 March 3, 1899 Republican
41 James William Denny March 4, 1899 March 3, 1901 Democrat
42 Charles Reginald Schirm March 4, 1901 March 3, 1903 Republican
43 James William Denny March 4, 1903 March 3, 1905 Democrat
44 John Gill, Jr. March 4, 1905 March 3, 1911 Democrat
45 John Charles Linthicum March 4, 1911 October 5, 1932 Democrat
46 Ambrose Jerome Kennedy November 8, 1932 January 3, 1941 Democrat
47 John Ambrose Meyer January 3, 1941 January 3, 1943 Democrat
48 Daniel Ellison January 3, 1943 January 3, 1945 Republican
49 George Hyde Fallon January 3, 1945 January 3, 1971 Democrat
50 Paul Sarbanes January 3, 1971 January 3, 1973 Democrat
51 Marjorie Holt January 3, 1973 January 3, 1987 Republican
52 Charles Thomas McMillen January 3, 1987 January 3, 1993 Democrat
53 Al Wynn January 3, 1993 May 31, 2008 Democrat

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Al Wynn Leaving House In June To Join Law Firm" CBS News. 27 March 2008.
  2. ^ U.S. judge throws out challenge to MD redistricting map | Daily Record, The (Baltimore) | Find Articles at BNET.com
  3. ^ The Online NewsHour: Vote 2006 | State Profile: Maryland | PBS
  4. ^ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Birnbaum, Jeffrey H. "Wynn Decides to Leave Congress 6 Months Before His Term Expires", The Washington Post, 2008-03-28, p. B01. 
  5. ^ Washington Post: MARYLAND BRIEFING Friday, April 18, 2008; Page B02
  6. ^ Parsons, Stanley B., William W. Beach and Dan Hermann. United States Congressional Districts, 1788-1841 (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1978) p. 8-9
  7. ^ Parsons. Congressional Districts. p. 42-43
  8. ^ Parsons. Congressional Districts. p. 93-94
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Maryland's congressional districts
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The At-large seat is obsolete.
See also: Maryland's past & present Representatives, Senators, and Delegations
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