Florida's 16th congressional district is an

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

for the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

and was reassigned in 2012, effective January 2013. The current borders of the district encompass southern Hillsborough County, the entirety of

Manatee County Manatee County is a county in the Central Florida portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county s ...

, and northern

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL m ...

. See whole Florida state map for 2013, with the 16th district in Manatee County and

Sarasota County, Florida Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL ...

:
-->ING2012/PUBLICCOMMENTS/h000c9047_35x42L.pdf h9047_35x42L.pdf
''Congressional Plan: H000C9047''. Chapter No. 2012-2, Laws of Florida. www.flsenate.gov. February 16, 2012. The district includes the metropolitan areas of

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

and

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

. The district is home to several colleges including

New College of Florida New College of Florida is a public liberal arts college in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1960 as a private institution known simply as New College, spent several years merged into the University of South Florida, and in 2001 became an aut ...

, and major transportation hubs like

Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport is located within three jurisdictions: Sarasota County, the city limits of Sarasota and Manatee County, in the United States' state of Florida. Owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, it is ...

. The district is currently represented by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Vern Buchanan Vernon Gale Buchanan ( ; born May 8, 1951) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 16th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, he first entered Congress in 2007, ...

History

The 16th district was created as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census. When the

Florida legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

redistricted in 2002 after the

2000 U.S. Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, a federal court described the boundaries of the 16th Congressional District and the interlocking 23rd Congressional District as an example of

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

and a "raw exercise of majority legislative power."

Voting

List of members representing the district

Election results

2002

2004

2006

*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. 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 Joseph Negron, Jr. (born October 9, 1961) is a Republican politician from Florida. He served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2009 to 2018, representing parts of the Treasure Coast. In his last two years in office, he served as Senate Presid ...

, who would have been duly elected had Foley won the November 7, 2006 election. Since Mahoney won the election, the question did not arise.U.S. House District 16: Mahoney fends off Negron
/ref>

2008

*Incumbent Tim Mahoney ran for reelection in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. His opponent was Tom Rooney, a former JAG officer, Special Assistant United States Attorney, and professor at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. Rooney is also the grandson of the founder of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. While Mahoney was initially favored, after the scandal involving his mistress, the race shifted toward "likely Republican" on the

Cook Political Report ''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Historical district boundaries

File:Florida US Congressional District 16 (since 2013).tif, File:FL-16 congressional district.gif, The former 16th district in 2003–2012 stretched from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

to the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

Coast and included parts of

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, Glades, Hendry,

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

, Okeechobee, St. Lucie,

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

, and Palm Beach counties. Included within the district were Port Charlotte,

Port St. Lucie Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous municipality in the county with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 census. It is located southeast of Orlando and north of Miami. The Port St. Lu ...

, and Palm Beach.

References

*
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

2000 Census DataOpenSecrets.org's summary of spending for the 2006 race
{{coord, 27, 18, 23, N, 82, 25, 34, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title 16 Charlotte County, Florida Glades County, Florida Hendry County, Florida Highlands County, Florida Martin County, Florida Okeechobee County, Florida Palm Beach County, Florida St. Lucie County, Florida 1983 establishments in Florida