Maryland's 3rd congressional district

Maryland's 3rd congressional district
Maryland's 3rd congressional district – since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative	John Sarbanes (D–Towson)
Area	292.74 sq mi (758.2 km2)
Distribution	98.4% urban 1.3% rural
Population (2000)	662,062
Median income	52,906
Ethnicity	77.3% White 16.3% Black 3.2% Asian 2.9% Hispanic 0.3% Native American 1.1% other
Occupation	15.7% Blue-collar 71.7% White-collar 12.5% Gray-collar
Cook PVI	D+13[1]

Maryland's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the state of Maryland. It comprises portions of Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties, as well as a significant part of the independent city of Baltimore. The seat is currently represented by John Sarbanes, a Democrat. Landmarks in the district include Fort McHenry and the state capital, Annapolis.

Three people who represented Maryland in the United States Senate were also former representatives of the 3rd district, including Ben Cardin, Barbara Mikulski, and Paul Sarbanes.

The district's odd shape is attributed to gerrymandering to favor Democratic candidates following the 2000^[2] and 2010^[3] censuses. In 2012 the district was found to be the third least compact congressional district in the United States^[4] and in 2014 The Washington Post called it the nation's second-most gerrymandered district.^[5]

Recent elections in statewide races

Recent elections

Historical boundaries and composition

The district, from 2003 to 2013

Maryland's 3rd district was one of the 61 districts that elected a representative to the 1st United States Congress. It also has the distinction of being one of the few congressional districts that once included areas not currently in the state they are in. The 3rd congressional district originally was composed of Prince George's County, Maryland and Anne Arundel County, Maryland.^[7] At that point what is now Howard County, Maryland was in Anne Arundel County, and Prince George's County included the eastern half of the District of Columbia.

In 1792 the Maryland 3rd Congressional District was moved to include Montgomery County, Maryland and the eastern half of Frederick County, Maryland. The population was about 33,000.^[8] However, the western portion of what is today Carroll County, Maryland was at this point in Frederick County, and the western half of the District of Columbia was in Montgomery County. This latter fact explains why the district lost population even though it in theory did not experience redistricting after the 1800 census. With the population of Georgetown, D. C. no longer in the district, its 1800 population was about 31,000.^[9] At this point the 3rd was Maryland's least populous district, barely having half the population of the Baltimore City and County 5th district, which in 1800 had just above 59,000 inhabitants.^[10]

The boundaries remained the same after the 1810, 1820 and 1830 censuses. While in 1820 the district had about 36,000 inhabitants its population had risen to 53,622 in 1830.^[11] With the formation of Carroll County in the 1830s as well as Maryland falling from 8 to 6 congressional seats, the boundaries of the 3rd Congressional District were drastically redrawn. The only area that remained in the 3rd Congressional District was the part of Carroll County that had been in Frederick County. The 3rd also included Baltimore County and the western half of the city of Baltimore. Its new population was 69,923, 24.5% of whom were black.^[12]

In 1853 the 3rd district was redrawn again. The new district consisted of Baltimore County except for the northern and western parts of the county and about the eastern third of the City of Baltimore. The district now had a population of 95,729.^[13] In the redistricting following the 1860 census, Maryland was reduced to five congressional districts. The 3rd was moved so that it contained the part of Baltimore that had not been in the 3rd before 1863. It now had a population of 130,040.^[14] In 1873 the 3rd district was moved again, to be the east side of Baltimore. It now had a population of 120,978.^[15]

List of representatives

	Name	Years	Party	Electoral history
1	Benjamin Contee	March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1791	Anti-Administration	[Data unknown/missing.]
2	William Pinkney	March 4, 1791 – November 1791	Pro-Administration	Resigned.
Vacant		November 1791 – February 5, 1792
3	John Francis Mercer	February 5, 1792 – March 3, 1793	Anti-Administration	Elected October 26–29, 1791 to finish Pinkney's term. Redistricted to the 2nd district.
4	Uriah Forrest	March 4, 1793 – November 8, 1794	Pro-Administration	Resigned.
Vacant		November 8, 1794 – January 2, 1795
5	Benjamin Edwards	January 2, 1795 – March 3, 1795	Pro-Administration	[Data unknown/missing.]
6	Jeremiah Crabb	March 4, 1795 – June 1, 1796	Federalist	Resigned.
Vacant		June 1, 1796 – December 5, 1796
7	William Craik	December 5, 1796 – March 3, 1801	Federalist	Elected October 3, 1796 to finish Crabb's term. [Data unknown/missing.]
8	Thomas Plater	March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1805	Federalist	[Data unknown/missing.]
9	Patrick Magruder	March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1807	Democratic-Republican	[Data unknown/missing.]
10	Philip Barton Key	March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813	Federalist	[Data unknown/missing.]
11	Alexander Contee Hanson	March 4, 1813 – 1816	Federalist	Resigned.
Vacant		1816 – October 7, 1816
12	George Peter	October 7, 1816 – March 3, 1819	Federalist	[Data unknown/missing.]
13	Henry Ridgely Warfield	March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823	Federalist	[Data unknown/missing.]
		March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	Adams Federalist
14	George Peter	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827	Jacksonian	[Data unknown/missing.]
15	George Corbin Washington	March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829	Adams	[Data unknown/missing.]
		March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833	Anti-Jacksonian
17	James Turner	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	Jacksonian	[Data unknown/missing.]
18	John Tolley Hood Worthington	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
19	James Wray Williams	March 4, 1841 – December 2, 1842	Democratic	Died.
Vacant		December 2, 1842 – January 2, 1843
20	Charles S. Sewall	January 2, 1843 – March 3, 1843	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
21	John Wethered	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845	Whig	[Data unknown/missing.]
22	Thomas Watkins Ligon	March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1849	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
23	Edward Hammond	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
24	Joshua Van Sant	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
25	James Morrison Harris	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1861	Know Nothing	[Data unknown/missing.]
26	Cornelius Leary	March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1863	Unionist	[Data unknown/missing.]
27	Henry Winter Davis	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	Unconditional Unionist	[Data unknown/missing.]
28	Charles Edward Phelps	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1867	Unconditional Unionist	[Data unknown/missing.]
		March 4, 1867 – March 3, 1869	Conservative
29	Thomas Swann	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873	Democratic	Redistricted to the 4th district.
30	William James O'Brien	March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
31	William Kimmel	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1881	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
32	Fetter Schrier Hoblitzell	March 4, 1881 – March 3, 1885	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
33	William Hinson Cole	March 4, 1885 – July 8, 1886	Democratic	Died.
Vacant		July 8, 1886 – November 2, 1886
34	Harry Welles Rusk	November 2, 1886 – March 3, 1897	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
35	William Samuel Booze	March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1899	Republican	[Data unknown/missing.]
36	Frank Charles Wachter	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1907	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
37	Harry Benjamin Wolf	March 4, 1907 – March 3, 1909	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
38	John Kronmiller	March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1911	Republican	[Data unknown/missing.]
39	George Konig	March 4, 1911 – May 31, 1913	Democratic	Died.
Vacant		May 31, 1913 – November 4, 1913
40	Charles Pearce Coady	November 4, 1913 – March 3, 1921	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
41	John B.P.C. Hill	March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1927	Republican	[Data unknown/missing.]
42	Vincent Palmisano	March 4, 1927 – January 3, 1939	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
43	Thomas D'Alesandro Jr.	January 3, 1939 – May 16, 1947	Democratic	Resigned to become Mayor of Baltimore.
Vacant		May 16, 1947 – July 15, 1947
44	Edward Garmatz	July 15, 1947 – January 3, 1973	Democratic	[Data unknown/missing.]
45	Paul Sarbanes	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1977	Democratic	Redistricted from the 4th district. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
46	Barbara Mikulski	January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1987	Democratic	First elected in 1976. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
47	Benjamin Cardin	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2007	Democratic	First elected in 1986. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
48	John Sarbanes	January 3, 2007 – Present	Democratic	First elected in 2006.

See also

• Maryland's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References

Coordinates: 39°09′N 76°36′W / 39.15°N 76.6°W / 39.15; -76.6