Florida's 16th congressional district

Florida's 16th congressional district
Florida's 16th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative		Vern Buchanan (R–Sarasota)
Cook PVI	R+5

Florida's 16th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress and was reassigned in 2012, effective January 2013, to western Manatee County, Florida and Sarasota County.^[1][2] The district stretches from Bradenton, the County Seat, in Manatee County to North Port, in Sarasota County, the county's youngest and most populous incorporated city. The city of Sarasota is the County Seat of Sarasota County.

The former 16th district in 2003–2012 stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Coast and included parts of Charlotte, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. Included within the district were Port Charlotte, Port St. Lucie, and Palm Beach.

The district is currently represented by Republican Vern Buchanan.

History

When the Florida legislature redistricted in 2002 after the 2000 U.S. Census, a federal court described the boundaries of the 16th Congressional District and the interlocking 23rd Congressional District as an example of gerrymandering and a "raw exercise of majority legislative power."^[3]

Voting

Election results from presidential races
Year	Office	Results
2008	President	John McCain 52 – Barack Obama 47%
2004	President	George W. Bush 55 – John Kerry 45%
2000	President	George W. Bush 53 – Al Gore 47%

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Years	Congress	Note
District created		January 3, 1983
Lawrence Smith	Democratic	January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993	98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd	Retired
Tom Lewis	Republican	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995	103rd	Redistricted from the 12th district, Retired
Mark Foley	Republican	January 3, 1995 – September 29, 2006	104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th	Resigned
Vacant		September 29, 2006 – January 3, 2007	109th
Tim Mahoney	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009	110th	Lost re-election
Tom Rooney	Republican	January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2013	111th 112th	Redistricted to the 17th district
Vern Buchanan	Republican	January 3, 2013 – present	113th 114th	Redistricted from the 13th district

Election Results

2002

Florida's 16th Congressional District Election (2002)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Foley*	176,171	78.88
	Constitution	Jack McLain	47,169	21.12
Total votes			223,340	100.00
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2004

Florida's 16th Congressional District Election (2004)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Foley*	215,563	68.04
	Democratic	Jeff Fisher	101,247	31.96
Total votes			316,810	100.00
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2006

Florida's 16th Congressional District Election (2006)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tim Mahoney	115,832	49.55
	Republican	Mark Foley* (Joe Negron)	111,415	47.66
	Independent	Emmie Lee Ross	6,526	2.79
Total votes			223,799	100.00
Voter turnout			%
	Democratic gain from Republican

• The seat became vacant after Foley's sudden resignation on September 29, 2006, after it became public that he had sent inappropriate emails to male teenage former congressional pages.^[4] Foley's resignation occurred too late under Florida law to take his name off the ballot. Therefore, Foley's name remained on the ballot, but votes cast for him went to his replacement, State Representative Joe Negron, who would have been duly elected had Foley won the November 7, 2006 election.^[5] Since Mahoney won the election, the question did not arise.^[6]

2008

Florida's 16th Congressional District Election (2008)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Rooney	209,847	60.10
	Democratic	Tim Mahoney*	139,329	39.90
Total votes			349,176	100.00
Voter turnout			%
	Republican gain from Democratic

• Incumbent Tim Mahoney ran for reelection in 2008. His opponent was Tom Rooney, a former JAG officer, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and professor at the United States Military Academy. Rooney is also the grandson of the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Mahoney was initially favored, after the scandal involving his mistress, the race shifted toward "likely Republican" on the Cook Political Report.

2010

Florida's 16th Congressional District Election (2010)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tom Rooney*	162,285	66.85
	Democratic	Jim Horn	80,327	33.09
	No party	Others	151	0.06%
Total votes			242,763	100.00
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

2012

Florida's 16th Congressional District Election (2012)

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Vern Buchanan*	187,147	53.6
	Democratic	Keith Fitzgerald	161,929	46.4
Total votes			349,076	100.00
Voter turnout			%
	Republican hold

Living former Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 16th congressional district

As of May 2015, there are three former members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 16th congressional district that are currently living at this time.

Representative	Term of office	Date of birth (and age)
Mark Foley	1995–2006	September 8, 1954
Tim Mahoney	2007–2009	August 16, 1956
Tom Rooney	2009–2013	November 21, 1970

Historical district boundaries

2003 - 2013 The former 16th district contained other southeastern Florida counties.

References

1. See whole Florida state map for 2013, with the 16th district in western Manatee County and Sarasota County, Florida: h9047_35x42L.pdf Congressional Plan: H000C9047. Chapter No. 2012-2, Laws of Florida. www.flsenate.gov. February 16, 2012.
2. See 2013 borders of 16th district in the 2013 districts map: H000C9047_map_sw.pdf, for the southwest region of Florida. Congressional Plan: H000C9047. Chapter No. 2012-2, Laws of Florida. www.flsenate.gov. February 2012.
3. Martinez v. Bush, 234 F.Supp.2d 1275, S.D.Fla., December 3, 2002 senate.mn
4. Foley Resigns From Congress Over E-Mails, Guardian Unlimited; Florida Republican Foley Resigns From U.S. House Seat, Bloomberg.com
5. GOP Regroups After Foley's Departure, CBS News
6. U.S. House District 16: Mahoney fends off Negron

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

• 2000 Census Data
• OpenSecrets.org's summary of spending for the 2006 race

Coordinates: 27°18′23″N 82°25′34″W / 27.30639°N 82.42611°W