Florida's 3rd congressional district is an electoral district of the United States House of Representatives located in Florida. It presently comprises a large section of north central Florida, including the entire counties of Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Levy, Suwannee, and Union, along with the majority of Lafayette and Marion County. The city of Gainesville is in the district as well as part of Ocala (its northern suburbs), and portions of the Jacksonville metropolitan area.
| Florida's 3rd congressional district | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 | |
| Representative | |
| Area | 3,844[1] sq mi (9,960 km2) |
| Distribution |
|
| Population (2023) | 807,523[3] |
| Median household income | $60,187[3] |
| Ethnicity |
|
| Cook PVI | R+9[4] |
.svg)
Redistricting in Florida, effective for the 2012 federal elections, radically altered the nature of the 3rd district. From 1993 through 2012 the district called the 3rd district comprised an entirely different territory, roughly similar to the 5th district as of 2013[update]. Likewise the present territory of the new 3rd district, as of the 2012 elections, is made up of parts of the former 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th districts, though it is geographically similar to the pre-2013 6th district. The former 3rd district was an intentionally gerrymandered territory designed to unite disparate areas of northeastern Florida with significant African-American populations into a black-majority district, and was overwhelmingly Democratic in voting patterns.
The new 3rd district has a majority white population, largely in rural areas and small towns. The only cities of any size in the district are Gainesville and Ocala. The district has been represented by Republican Kat Cammack since 2021.
While Florida has had at least three congressional districts since the 1900 U.S. census, the 1993–2012 3rd congressional district dates to reapportionment done by the Florida Legislature after the 1990 U.S. census. Because Florida has a large population of African Americans, but not a large enough concentration anywhere in the state to easily configure a congressional district with a majority, there were several attempts to create a few gerrymandered districts which were certain to elect an African American candidate. This created an odd coalition of black Democrats and Republicans who supported such districts (since this not only created black-majority districts, but also made "safer" Republican districts elsewhere). This effort was opposed by many white Democrats, but eventually, this idea won the support of the state legislature and this district was created as a result.[5]
The 1993–2012 3rd congressional district was geographically diverse. Starting from the southern part of the district, it included the Pine Hills area of the Orlando-Kissimmee Metropolitan Area with small pockets of African-American neighborhoods in the cities of Sanford, Gainesville, Palatka, and finally the larger African American communities of Jacksonville. Connecting these areas were regions that are sparsely populated—either expansive rural areas or narrow strips which are only a few miles wide. Barack Obama received 73% of the vote in this district in the 2008 Presidential election. The old 3rd district was represented from 1993 through 2012 by Corrine Brown, who was elected to the similar new 5th district in the November 2012 elections.
Voting
edit| Year | Office | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | President | B. Clinton 52–34% |
| 1996 | President | B. Clinton 61–33% |
| 2000 | President | Gore 60–38% |
| 2004 | President | Kerry 65–35% |
| 2008 | President | Obama 73–26% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 56.6–41.9% |
| 2016 | President | Trump 56.2–40.2% |
| 2020 | President | Trump 56.0–42.8% |
Voter registration
editCurrent voter registration
as of February 20, 2024[update]
Composition
edit| # | County | Seat | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alachua | Gainesville | 285,994 |
| 3 | Baker | Macclenny | 28,368 |
| 7 | Bradford | Starke | 27,858 |
| 23 | Columbia | Lake City | 73,063 |
| 29 | Dixie | Cross City | 17,465 |
| 41 | Gilchrist | Treton | 19,587 |
| 47 | Hamilton | Jasper | 13,471 |
| 67 | Lafayette | Mayo | 8,078 |
| 75 | Levy | Bronson | 46,545 |
| 83 | Marion | Ocala | 409,959 |
| 121 | Suwanee | Live Oak | 46,130 |
| 125 | Union | Lake Butler | 15,532 |
Cities with 10,000 or more people
edit- Gainesville – 141,085
- Ocala – 63,591
- Liberty Triangle – 23,759
- Marion Oaks – 19,034
- On Top of the World – 12,668
- Lake City – 12,329
- Alachua – 10,574
2,500-10,000 people
edit- Newberry – 7,342
- Macclenny – 7,304
- Live Oak – 6,735
- High Springs – 6,215
- Starke – 5,796
- Rainbow Springs – 5,091
- Jasper – 3,621
- Rainbow Lakes Estates – 3,438
- Watertown – 3,018
- Ocala Estates – 2,991
- Williston – 2,976
- Williston Highlands – 2,591
List of members representing the district
edit
Recent election results
edit2002
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Corrine Brown (Incumbent) | 88,462 | 59.29 | |
| Republican | Jennifer Carroll | 60,747 | 40.71 | |
| Total votes | 149,209 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2004
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Corrine Brown (Incumbent) | 172,833 | 99.24 | |
| No party | Others | 1,323 | 0.76 | |
| Total votes | 174,156 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2006
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Corrine Brown (Incumbent) | 100.00 | ||
| Total votes | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2008
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Corrine Brown (Incumbent) | 100.00 | ||
| Total votes | 100.00 | |||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2010
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Corrine Brown (Incumbent) | 94,744 | 63.04 | |
| Republican | Mike Yost | 50,932 | 33.89 | |
| Independent | Terry Martin-Back | 4,625 | 3.08 | |
| Total votes | 150,301 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2012
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ted Yoho | 204,331 | 64.7 | |||
| Democratic | Jacques Rene Gaillot Jr. | 102,468 | 32.5 | |||
| Independent | Philip Dodds | 8,870 | 2.8 | |||
| Independent | Michael Ricks | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total votes | 315,669 | 100.00 | ||||
| Turnout | ||||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
2014
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ted Yoho (Incumbent) | 148,691 | 65.0 | |
| Democratic | Marihelen Wheeler | 73,910 | 32.3 | |
| Independent | Howard Lawson | 6,208 | 2.7 | |
| Total votes | 228,809 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
2016
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ted Yoho (Incumbent) | 193,843 | 56.6 | |
| Democratic | Kenneth McGurn | 136,338 | 39.8 | |
| Independent | Tom Wells | 12,519 | 3.7 | |
| Total votes | 342,700 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
2018
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ted Yoho (Incumbent) | 176,616 | 57.6 | |
| Democratic | Yvonne Hayes Hinson | 129,880 | 42.4 | |
| Total votes | 306,496 | 100.00 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Republican hold | ||||
2020
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kat Cammack | 223,075 | 57.14% | ||
| Democratic | Adam Christensen | 167,326 | 42.86% | ||
| Total votes | 390,401 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
2022
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Kat Cammack (Incumbent) | 178,101 | 62.5% | ||
| Democratic | Danielle Hawk | 103,382 | 36.3% | ||
| No party | Linda Brooks | 3,410 | 1.2% | ||
| Total votes | 284,893 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
Historical district boundaries
edit-
2003–2013 -
2013–2017 -
2017–2023
References
edit- ^ "Congressional Plan--SC14-1905 (Ordered by The Florida Supreme Court, 2-December-2015)" (PDF). Florida Senate Committee on Reapportionment. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ^ "Geography Program". The United States Census Bureau.
- ^ a b Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP). "My Congressional District Bureau". www.census.gov.
- ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Leary, Alex (May 14, 2011). "Democrat U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown again aligns with GOP in Florida redistricting battle". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
- ^ "Florida's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2012". Ballotpedia.
- ^ "Florida's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2014". Ballotpedia.
- ^ "Florida's 3rd Congressional District election, 2016". Ballotpedia.
- ^ "Florida's 3rd Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia.
- 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