West Virginia's 1st congressional district
| West Virginia's 1st congressional district | |
|---|---|
West Virginia's 1st congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
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| Current Representative | David McKinley (R–Wheeling) |
| Population (2010) | 615,991 |
| Median income | 30,303 |
| Ethnicity |
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| Cook PVI | R+14 |
West Virginia's 1st congressional district is located in the northern part of the state. It is the most regularly drawn of the state's three districts.
It includes the industrial Rust Belt area of the state's northern panhandle which includes the district's third largest city, Wheeling, as well as Fairmont, Clarksburg, and the college town of Morgantown, the home of the main campus of West Virginia University. The largest city in the district is Parkersburg; the second largest is Morgantown. It also includes many rural farm and timber producing areas. The district has almost no population change reported in the 2010 Census change relative to the other 2 districts, as growth around Morgantown and Parkersburg offset population loss elsewhere, and the district was carried over unchanged for the next ten-year cycle.
The district is currently represented by David McKinley, a Republican who has represented the district since 2011.
West Virginia has tended to give its congressmen very long tenures in Washington, and the 1st District is no exception. Only four men have represented the district since 1953: Bob Mollohan (D) (1953–1957), former Governor Arch Moore, Jr. (R) (1957–1969), Bob Mollohan again (1969–1983), Alan Mollohan (1983–2011) and McKinley.
Despite the lack of turnover in the congressional seat, historically the 1st was not safe for either party. The cities are ancestrally Democratic strongholds, while the rural areas are much more conservative and have a tendency to swing Republican more often. As late as 2014, state legislators were roughly split between both parties.
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