Population (2000) 668,360 Area 45,379 km² | Median income 28,940 | |
 | ||
Current Representative Rick Crawford (R–Jonesboro) Distribution 44.5% urban
55.5% rural Ethnicity 80.2% White
16.6% Black
0.3% Asian
1.9% Hispanic
0.4% Native American
0.9% other Occupation 35% Blue-collar
48.8% White-collar
16.2% Gray-collar | ||
Arkansas's 1st congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in northeastern and part of southeastern Arkansas that elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives.
Contents
It is currently represented by Republican Rick Crawford.
2003–2013
Before the 2012 census, it was only in northeastern Arkansas, encompassing the counties of Arkansas, Baxter, Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, Randolph, Saint Francis, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, and Woodruff.
2013–2023
The district took in additional counties in the southeastern portion that were part of the 4th district which in turn took the entire eastern Arkansas border. It fully encompasses the counties of Arkansas, Baxter, Chicot, Clay, Cleburne, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Lee, Lincoln, Lonoke, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, Randolph, Saint Francis, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, and Woodruff. The district also encompasses parts of Jefferson county.
Character
The Mississippi Delta has long been home to American industrial agriculture, with cotton, rice and soybeans by far the biggest export from the region. The 1st District covers most of the Arkansas Delta area and stretches as far west to the Ozarks. The farming areas, despite their fertility, are generally poor by national standards, with unemployment and undereducation as some of the greatest problems. Rice farms are the amongst the greatest recipients of federal farming subsidization - and three of the top five subsidy farms in the United States are in the 1st District, receiving over $100 million since 1996.
Some manufacturing has been sited in the region recently, with several auto parts factories being built in Marion and Toyota considering it as the site for its seventh North American plant.
Jonesboro is the largest town, home to a sizable food processing industry with companies such as Nestle and Frito-Lay sited here. Jonesboro is also home to Arkansas State University (ASU)-Jonesboro. While Jonesboro itself sports a Republican trend, along with some of the hill counties, it is balanced by the strong Democratic presence in the African American-dominated Mississippi River Delta. The result is a fairly closely divided vote in national politics. While Al Gore narrowly carried the district in 2000 with 50% of the vote, George W. Bush won the district in 2004. The district swung even more Republican in 2008, giving John McCain 58.69% of the vote while Barack Obama received 38.41% here.
List of representatives
The district was created in 1853 after the 1850 United States Census added a second seat to the state. The at-large seat then was split between this district and the second district.
Living former Members
As of April 2015, there are three former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's 1st congressional district that are currently living.