Alabama's 1st Congressional District

Alabama Congressional District 1:

Alabama's New District Map

Alabama Congressional District 1 is located in the Southernmost part of Alabama. The district has a total population of 730,935 (2022). 3% of the population is foreign-born (22,522 people). The district has 98.6% of U.S. citizens compared to the national average of 93.4% (2021). They have a population containing white, non-hispanic (64.9%), African American (27%), Multiracial (2.18%), Asian (1.48%), and Hispanic white (1.43%). 82% of Alabamians believe in God, and 86% of the population is a Christian. 

Major Cities/Counties:

• The largest city in District 1 is Mobile with a population of 179,833 (2024). They recently redistricted Mobile, so the current voting age population is 120,794 people. Mobile is home to Jerry Carl, Representative of District 1. Mobile is known as The Port City or Azalea City. Mobile is an urban city.
• After the redistricting of Congressional Districts 1 and 2, the largest county in District 1 is Baldwin County. They have a total population 231,767 people, and a voting age population of 182,471 people. The county is now in the same district as the Wiregrass region in Southeast Alabama.

Demographics:

• 2022 Median Age: 40.9
• 2022 Median Household Income: $58,781.
• 2021 Poverty Rate: 15.4%, which is a 1.86% decrease from the previous year. Poverty is a social issue that impacts everyday lives. Poverty can affect the outcome of an election, as those who are below the poverty line often do not vote in national elections. When certain groups of people feel like they are not being represented, then they do not show up at a polling office. The representatives need to start advocating the economic conditions some people live in, so they feel represented like any other American.
• 2022 Educational Attainment: 90.2% graduated high school with a diploma and 27% of graduates attained a bachelor's degree or higher. 
• 2022 Veteran Status: 47,118 civilians
• 2022 Total Civilians with a disability: 111,712 people
• This is 15.2% of the population.

Economy:

• Alabama's 1st District employed 318,419 (16 years and older) people in 2022. 
• The unemployment rate is 5.1% (17,147 people).
• Major Industries include:
• Educational Services, Health Care & Social Assistance (70,525 people)
• Retail Trade (40,277)

• 

  Median Earnings by Gender

  Manufacturing (38,959)
• Highest Paying Industries include:
• Management of Companies & Enterprises
• Mining, Quarrying, Oil & Gas Extraction
• Utilities
• Median Earnings by Industry:
• Men: $45,706
• Women: $29,548
• The median earnings by industry is a concern because it shows that women still make a lot less than their male colleagues. It portrays the problem that wage based on gender still occurs. This may relate back to the stereotype that men are employed at more hands-on and harder jobs, while women do the easy work.

Party Affiliation:

Alabama 2020 Presidential Election Vote

• They are a heavily right-leaning district represented by Jerry Carl
• During the 2020 Presidential Election, the popular vote in Alabama went to Donald Trump with 62% of the vote.
• Biden received 36.6% of the popular vote in the State of Alabama. The majority of Biden's vote came from the Congressional District 7, where many African-American voters live.
• Based on the chart to the right, District 1 voted favorably for Trump with a majority of its districts the color red. District 1 is located at the southernmost part of Alabama.
• For the past 20 years, the Congressional District has been a solid red district. They are the second most republican district in Alabama and recently had a rightward shift of +28 advantage for Republicans, a large shift from 2017 when it was +15 advantage.
• Recently, they redistricted Alabama Districts because they found that the African-American population was not well-represented. It violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They redistricted near Congressional District 1 and 2. This is an issue because it challenges whether there is fair representation for people of color. ACLU explains that when they "pack" people of color into a singular district, they limit their voting power.

I believe that after the redistricting of Alabama's Congressional Districts, that the once homogenous constituency of District 1 will become a heterogenous constituency. According to Fenno's Exploration of Constituencies, he describes both a homogenous and heterogenous constituency. He explains that a constituency has homogeneity if it is a preexisting community and the Congress member sees less potential conflict. While a heterogenous constituency does not pay attention to pre-existing communities of interests and they have more variety in interests. Since District 1 gained some of District 2's territory, the people's interests may shift. They may have different views on what policy to implement and where their focus lies. 

Rep. Jerry Carl (AL-1) and Rep. Barry Moore (AL-2) will fight for the District 1 Representative spot in the 2024 Election. 

Primary Source:

• Richard Fenno. "U.S. House Members in their Constituencies: An Exploration." Chapter 7. 
• https://www.census.gov/mycd/?st=01&cd=01
• https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/alabama/president
• https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/politics/poorer-americans-have-much-lower-voting-rates-in-national-elections-than-the-nonpoor-a-study-finds.html

Secondary Source: 

• https://datausa.io/profile/geo/congressional-district-1-al#:~:text=Population%20%26%20Diversity&text=As%20of%202021%2C%203%25%20of,any%20other%20race%20or%20ethnicity
• https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/state/alabama/
• https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/after-redistricting-baldwin-county-emerges-as-the-epicenter-of-a-new-congressional-district.html
• https://altoday.com/archives/27365-a-look-at-the-voting-history-of-alabamas-1st-congressional-district

Author Background:

Madison Johnson

Born and Raised in Chancellor, SD. 

She currently attends Augustana University 

as a double major in Government and Spanish.