Kentucky's 1st congressional district

Kentucky's 1st congressional district
Kentucky's 1st congressional district
	Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	James Comer; R–Tompkinsville
Distribution	63.12% rural; 36.88% urban;
Population (2023)	750,693
Median household; income	$54,615
Ethnicity	83.8% White; 7.1% Black; 4.0% Two or more races; 3.8% Hispanic; 0.7% Asian; 0.6% other;
Cook PVI	R+24

Kentucky's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located in Western Kentucky, and stretching into Central Kentucky, the district takes in Henderson, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Paducah, Murray, Danville, and Frankfort. The district is represented by Republican James Comer who won a special election to fill the seat of Rep. Ed Whitfield who resigned in September 2016. Comer also won election to the regular term to begin January 3, 2017.

Sign in front of the McCracken, Kentucky Courthouse (in Paducah, Kentucky) commemorating early members of the U.S. House of Representatives representing Jackson Purchase (U.S. historical region). The "First District" in the title actually changed over time. It refers to the Jackson Purchase, which was in the 5th district from 1819 to 1823, the 12th district until 1833, and then the 1st district until the end of the sign's lineage in 1855.

Characteristics

Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 2023^[5]
Party		Number of voters	Percentage
	Republican	270,824	47.31%
	Democratic	251,444	43.92%
	Other	30,618	5.35%
	Independent	19,591	3.42%
Total		572,477	100%

Until January 1, 2006, Kentucky did not track party affiliation for registered voters who were neither Democratic nor Republican.^[6] 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.^[7]

Recent statewide elections

Election results from statewide races
Year	Office	Results
2000	President	Bush 58–40%
2004	President	Bush 63–36%
2008	President	McCain 62–37%
2012	President	Romney 66–32%
2016	President	Trump 70–26%
2016	Senate	Paul 64–36%
2019	Governor	Bevin 57–41%
2019	Attorney General	Cameron 65–35%
2020	President	Trump 71–28%
2020	Senate	McConnell 65–31%
2022	Senate	Paul 71–29%
2023	Governor	Cameron 56–44%

Composition

#	County	Seat	Population
1	Adair	Columbia	19,264
3	Allen	Scottsville	21,788
5	Anderson	Lawrenceburg	24,613
7	Ballard	Wickliffe	7,582
21	Boyle	Danville	30,988
33	Caldwell	Princeton	12,551
35	Calloway	Murray	38,280
39	Carlisle	Bardwell	4,704
45	Casey	Liberty	15,918
47	Christian	Hopkinsville	72,032
53	Clinton	Albany	9,148
55	Crittenden	Marion	8,974
57	Cumberland	Burkesville	6,000
73	Franklin	Frankfort	51,644
75	Fulton	Hickman	6,338
83	Graves	Mayfield	36,461
101	Henderson	Henderson	44,119
105	Hickman	Clinton	4,447
107	Hopkins	Madisonville	44,929
139	Livingston	Smithland	8,892
141	Logan	Russellville	28,283
143	Lyon	Eddyville	9,187
145	McCracken	Paducah	67,428
155	Marion	Lebanon	19,834
157	Marshall	Benton	31,744
169	Metcalfe	Edmonton	10,482
171	Monroe	Tompkinsville	11,306
207	Russell	Jamestown	18,279
213	Simpson	Franklin	20,195
217	Taylor	Campbellsville	26,443
219	Todd	Elkton	12,494
221	Trigg	Cadiz	14,369
225	Union	Morganfield	13,106
229	Washington	Springfield	12,267
233	Webster	Dixon	12,726

Cities of 10,000 or more people

Hopkinsville – 30,927
Frankfort – 28,391
Henderson – 27,697
Paducah – 27,205
Madisonville – 19,214
Murray – 17,522
Danville – 17,303
Campbellsville – 11,599
Franklin – 10,344

2,500 – 10,000 people

Mayfield – 9,894
Oak Grove – 7,997
Russellville – 7,282
Lebanon – 6,436
Princeton – 6,210
Columbia – 4,846
Hendron – 4,774
Benton – 4,762
Massac – 4,635
Reidland – 4,526
Scottsville – 4,433
Farley – 4,374
Morganfield – 3,166
Marion – 2,900
Springfield – 2,876
Providence – 2,819
Russell Springs – 2,750
Cadiz – 2,716
Calvert City – 2,517

List of members representing the district

Member	Party	Service	Cong ress	Electoral history	Location
District created November 9, 1792
Christopher Greenup (Lexington)	Anti-Administration	November 9, 1792 – March 3, 1795	2nd 3rd 4th	Elected September 7, 1792. Re-elected in 1793. Re-elected in 1795. Retired.	1792–1803 "Southern district": Jefferson, Lincoln, Madison, Mercer, Nelson, Shelby, and Washington counties Added in 1797: Green, Hardin, and Logan counties Added in 1799: Barren, Bullitt, Christian, Cumberland, Garrard, Henderson, Henry, Livingston, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Pulaski, and Warren counties Added in 1801: Breckinridge, Knox, and Wayne counties
Christopher Greenup (Lexington)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1797	2nd 3rd 4th
Thomas T. Davis	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1803	5th 6th 7th	Elected in 1797. Re-elected in 1799. Re-elected in 1801. Retired.
Matthew Lyon (Eddyville)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1811	8th 9th 10th 11th	Elected in 1803. Re-elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Lost re-election.	1803–1813 Adair, Barren, Christian, Cumberland, Henderson, Livingston, Logan, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Pulaski, Warren, and Wayne counties
Anthony New (Elkton)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1811 – March 3, 1813	12th	Elected in 1810. Redistricted to the 5th district and retired.
James Clark (Winchester)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1813 – August 1816	13th 14th	Elected in 1812. Re-elected in 1814. Leave of absence April 8, 1816. Resigned prior to August 1816.	1813–1823 Bath, Clark, Estill, Fleming, Floyd, Greenup, and Montgomery counties
Vacant		August 1816 – December 2, 1816	14th
Thomas Fletcher (Owingsville)	Democratic-Republican	December 2, 1816 – March 3, 1817	14th	Elected to finish Clark's term. Retired.
David Trimble (Mount Sterling)	Democratic-Republican^[a]	March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1825	15th 16th 17th 18th 19th	Elected in 1816. Re-elected in 1818. Re-elected in 1820. Re-elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Lost re-election.
	Democratic-Republican^[a]	March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1825			1823–1833 Bath, Fleming, Floyd, Greenup, Lawrence, Lewis, Montgomery, and Pike counties
	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827
Henry Daniel (Mount Sterling)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1833	20th 21st 22nd	Elected in 1827. Re-elected in 1829. Re-elected in 1831. Lost re-election.
Chittenden Lyon (Eddyville)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835	23rd	Redistricted from the 12th district and re-elected in 1833. Retired.	1833–1843 [data missing]
Linn Boyd (New Design)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837	24th	Elected in 1835. Lost re-election.
John L. Murray (Wadesboro)	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839	25th	Elected in 1837. Retired.
Linn Boyd (Paducah)	Democratic	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1855	26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd	Elected in 1839. Re-elected in 1841. Re-elected in 1843. Re-elected in 1845. Re-elected in 1847. Re-elected in 1849. Re-elected in 1851. Re-elected in 1853. Retired.
1843–1853 [data missing]
1853–1863 [data missing]
	Henry C. Burnett (Cadiz)	Democratic	March 4, 1855 – December 3, 1861	34th 35th 36th 37th	Elected in 1855. Re-elected in 1857. Re-elected in 1859. Re-elected in 1861. Expelled due to collaborating with the Confederacy.
	Vacant		December 3, 1861 – March 10, 1862	37th
	Samuel L. Casey (Caseyville)	Union Democratic	March 10, 1862 – March 3, 1863	37th	Elected to finish Burnett's term. Retired.
Lucien Anderson (Mayfield)	Union Democratic	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	38th	Elected in 1863. Retired.	1863–1873 [data missing]
Lawrence S. Trimble (Paducah)	Democratic	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1871	39th 40th 41st	Elected in 1865. Re-elected in 1867. Re-elected in 1868. Lost renomination.
Edward Crossland (Mayfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875	42nd 43rd	Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Retired.
1873–1883 [data missing]			42nd 43rd	Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Retired.
	Andrew Boone (Mayfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879	44th 45th	Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Retired.
	Oscar Turner (Oscar)	Independent Democratic	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1881	46th 47th 48th	Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882. Retired.
		Democratic	March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1883
Independent Democratic		March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885	1883–1893 [data missing]
William J. Stone (Kuttawa)	Democratic	March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1895	1883–1893 [data missing]	49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd	Elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Retired.
1893–1903 [data missing]				49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd
	John K. Hendrick (Smithland)	Democratic	March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1897	54th	Elected in 1894. Lost renomination.
	Charles K. Wheeler (Paducah)	Democratic	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1903	55th 56th 57th	Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Retired.
Ollie M. James (Marion)	Democratic	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1913	58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd	Elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.	1903–1913 [data missing]
Alben W. Barkley (Paducah)	Democratic	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1927	63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th	Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.	1913–1923 [data missing]
1923–1933 [data missing]			63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th
1923–1933 [data missing]	William V. Gregory (Mayfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1927 – March 3, 1933	70th 71st 72nd	Elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Redistricted to the at-large district.
District inactive		March 4, 1933 – March 3, 1935	73rd
William V. Gregory (Mayfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1935 – October 10, 1936	74th	Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1934. Died.	1933–1943 [data missing]
Vacant		October 10, 1936 – January 3, 1937	74th
Noble J. Gregory (Mayfield)	Democratic	January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1959	75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th	Elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Lost renomination.
1943–1953 [data missing]
1953–1963 [data missing]
1953–1963 [data missing]	Frank Stubblefield (Murray)	Democratic	January 3, 1959 – December 31, 1974	86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd	Elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Lost renomination and resigned early.
1963–1973 [data missing]
1973–1983 [data missing]
	Vacant		December 31, 1974 – January 3, 1975	93rd
	Carroll Hubbard (Mayfield)	Democratic	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1993	94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd	Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Lost renomination.
1983–1993 [data missing]				94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd
Tom Barlow (Paducah)	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995	103rd	Elected in 1992. Lost re-election.	1993–2003 [data missing]
Ed Whitfield (Hopkinsville)	Republican	January 3, 1995 – September 6, 2016	104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th	Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired and resigned early.	1993–2003 [data missing]
					2003–2013
					2013–2023 Adair, Allen, Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Casey, Christian, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Fulton, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Hopkins, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marshall, Marion, McCracken, McLean, Metcalfe, Monroe, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Russell, Simpson, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Union, and Webster counties
Vacant		September 6, 2016 – November 8, 2016	114th
James Comer (Tompkinsville)	Republican	November 8, 2016 – present	114th 115th 116th 117th 118th	Elected to finish Whitfield's term. Also elected in 2016 to the next term. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024.
James Comer (Tompkinsville)	Republican	November 8, 2016 – present	114th 115th 116th 117th 118th		2023–present

Recent election results

2000

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District Election (2000)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield*	132,115	58.00
	Democratic	Brian Roy	95,806	42.000
Total votes			227,921	100.00
	Republican hold

2002

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District Election (2002)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield*	117,600	65.26
	Democratic	Klint Alexander	62,617	34.74
Total votes			180,217	100.00
	Republican hold

2004

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District Election (2004)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield*	175,972	67.37
	Democratic	Billy Cartwright	85,229	32.63
Total votes			261,201	100.00
	Republican hold

2006

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District Election (2006)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield*	123,618	59.58
	Democratic	Tom Barlow	83,865	40.42
Total votes			207,483	100.00
	Republican hold

2008

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District Election (2008)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield*	178,107	64.35
	Democratic	Heather Ryan	98,674	35.65
Total votes			276,781	100.00
Turnout
	Republican hold

2010

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District Election (2010)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield*	153,519	71.25
	Democratic	Charles K. Hatchett	61,690	28.75
Total votes			215,209	100.00
	Republican hold

2012

Kentucky's 1st Congressional District Election (2012)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield*	199,956	69.63
	Democratic	Charles K. Hatchett	87,199	30.37
Total votes			287,155	100.00
	Republican hold

2014

2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Ed Whitfield (incumbent)	173,022	73.1
	Democratic	Charles Kendall Hatchett	63,596	26.9
Total votes			236,618	100.0
	Republican hold

2016

2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Comer	216,959	72.6
	Democratic	Sam Gaskins	81,710	27.3
	Independent	Terry McIntosh (write-in)	332	0.1
Total votes			299,001	100.0
	Republican hold

2018

2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Comer (incumbent)	172,167	68.6
	Democratic	Paul Walker	78,849	31.4
Total votes			251,016	100.0
	Republican hold

2020

2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Comer (incumbent)	246,329	75.0
	Democratic	James Rhodes	82,141	25.0
Total votes			328,470	100.0
	Republican hold

2022

2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Kentucky
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	James Comer (incumbent)	184,157	74.9
	Democratic	Jimmy Ausbrooks	61,701	25.1
Total votes			245,858	100.0
	Republican hold

Notes

^ Supported the Adams-Clay faction in the 1824 United States presidential election

References

^ "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov. US Census Bureau Geography. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
^ "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau.
^ "My Congressional District Bureau". www.census.gov. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau.
^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
^ "Registration Statistics". Kentucky State Board of Elections. January 2022.
^ "Kentucky Administrative Regulations 31KAR4:150". Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. November 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
^ "Register To Vote". Kentucky State Board of Elections. August 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2014.

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

37°05′05″N 87°11′06″W / 37.08472°N 87.18500°W / 37.08472; -87.18500

[8] Supported the Adams-Clay faction in the 1824 United States presidential election

[1] "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (state-based)". www.census.gov. US Census Bureau Geography. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2018.

[2] "My Congressional District". www.census.gov. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau.

[3] "My Congressional District Bureau". www.census.gov. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP), US Census Bureau.

[Cook-4] "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[KYSBE-5] "Registration Statistics". Kentucky State Board of Elections. January 2022.

[31KAR4:150-6] "Kentucky Administrative Regulations 31KAR4:150". Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. November 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2014.

[KYvoterReg-7] "Register To Vote". Kentucky State Board of Elections. August 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2014.

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