California's 51st congressional district | |
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![]() California's 51st congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
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Current Representative | Juan Vargas (D–San Diego) |
Area | 4,896 sq mi (12,680 km2) |
Population (2013) | 743,982 |
Median income | 41,477 |
Ethnicity | |
Cook PVI | D+16 |
California's 51st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by Democrat Juan Vargas.
The district currently includes all of Imperial County and the extreme southern portions of San Diego County that run across the U.S.–Mexico border. Cities in the district include National City, Chula Vista and El Centro.
In the 1980s, California's 44th Congressional District was one of four that divided San Diego. The district had been held for eight years by Democrat Jim Bates, and was considered the most Democratic district in the San Diego area. Randy "Duke" Cunningham won the Republican nomination and won the general election by just a point, meaning that the San Diego area was represented entirely by Republicans for only the second time since the city was split into three districts after the 1960 U.S. Census.
After the 1990 U.S. Census, the district was renumbered the 51st Congressional District and much of its share of San Diego was moved to the new 50th Congressional District.
As of April 2015[update], two former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 51st congressional district were still living.