Kentucky's 4th congressional district

Kentucky's 4th congressional district
Kentucky's 4th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative		Thomas Massie (R–Garrison)
Distribution	59.79% urban, 40.21% rural
Population (2000)	673,588
Median income	$40,150
Ethnicity	95.8% White, 2.3% Black, 0.5% Asian, 1.1% Hispanic, 0.2% Native American, 0.0% other
Cook PVI	R+15[1]

Kentucky's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in the northeastern portion of the state, it is a long district that follows the Ohio River. The majority of voters live in the booming suburban Cincinnati counties of Boone, Kenton and Campbell, which includes such suburbs as Fort Mitchell, Covington, Florence, Newport, and Fort Thomas. It also stretches into the outer suburbs of Louisville (including a small portion of Louisville itself) and Lexington.

The district is currently represented by Republican Thomas Massie, who was elected in a special election in 2012 to succeed Republican Geoff Davis, who resigned on July 31, 2012 citing family concerns.

Characteristics

The 4th was one of the first areas of Kentucky to turn Republican; it has been in GOP hands for all but six years since 1967. Its politics are dominated by Republicans in the wealthy Cincinnati suburbs, which have swelled with former Cincinnati residents since the early 1960s. Indeed, when Massie took office, he became the first congressman from the district's eastern portion in 45 years. Nonetheless, Democrats still hold state and local offices in rural counties.

As of November 7, 2006, there were a total of 476,480 registered voters. Of these, 250,986 (52.67%) identified as Democrats, 184,705 (38.76%) identified as Republicans, and 40,789 (8.56%) identified as "Others."

As of September 2013, there were 529,548 registered voters: 245,211 (46.30%) Democrats, 229,731 (43.38%) Republicans, and 54,606 (10.31%) "Others". All of the "Others" included 38,561 (7.28%) unclassified Others, 14,931 (2.82%) Independents, 841 (0.16%) Libertarians, 185 (0.03%) Greens, 51 (0.01%) Constitutionalists, 24 (0.0045%) Reforms, and 13 (0.0025%) Socialist Workers.^[2][3]

Until January 1, 2006, Kentucky did not track party affiliation for registered voters who were neither Democratic nor Republican.^[4] The Kentucky voter registration card does not explicitly list anything other than Democratic Party, Republican Party, or Other, with the "Other" option having a blank line and no instructions on how to register as something else.^[5]

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District Residence	Note
District created		March 4, 1803
Thomas Sandford	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1807
Richard M. Johnson	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813		Redistricted to the 3rd district Vice President 1837-1841
Joseph Desha	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1819		Redistricted from the 6th district
Thomas Metcalfe	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823		Redistricted to the 2nd district
Robert P. Letcher	Adams-Clay D-R	March 3, 1823 – March 3, 1825
	Adams	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1829
	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833
Martin Beaty	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835
Sherrod Williams	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837
	Whig	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841
Bryan Owsley	Whig	March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843
George Caldwell	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845
Joshua F. Bell	Whig	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Aylette Buckner	Whig	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849
George Caldwell	Democratic	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851
William T. Ward	Whig	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853
James Chrisman	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855
Albert G. Talbott	Democratic	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859
William C. Anderson	Opposition	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861
Aaron Harding	Unionist	March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1865
	Democratic	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867
J. Proctor Knott	Democratic	March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1871
William B. Read	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875
J. Proctor Knott	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1883
Thomas A. Robertson	Democratic	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887
Alexander B. Montgomery	Democratic	March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1895
John W. Lewis	Republican	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897
David H. Smith	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1907
Ben Johnson	Democratic	March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1927
Henry D. Moorman	Democratic	March 4, 1927 – March 3, 1929
John D. Craddock	Republican	March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1931
Cap R. Carden	Democratic	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933		Redistricted to the at-large district
District redistricted to at-large district		March 4, 1933
District re-established from at-large district		January 3, 1935
Cap R. Carden	Democratic	March 4, 1935 – June 13, 1935		Redistricted from the at-large district, Died
Edward W. Creal	Democratic	November 5, 1935 – October 13, 1943		Died
Chester Carrier	Republican	November 30, 1943 – January 3, 1945
Frank Chelf	Democratic	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1967
Gene Snyder	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1987
Jim Bunning	Republican	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1999
Ken Lucas	Democratic	January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Geoff Davis	Republican	January 3, 2005 – July 31, 2012		Resigned
Thomas Massie	Republican	November 6, 2012 – Present	Garrison

Recent election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013

See also

• Kentucky'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: 38°33′57″N 84°25′40″W / 38.56583°N 84.42778°W / 38.56583; -84.42778