Florida's 2nd congressional district is a

congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional body. Countries with congressional districts includ ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The district consists of the eastern part of the

Florida Panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

along with much of the Big Bend region along the Emerald Coast. It straddles both the Eastern and Central time zones. It includes

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, the state capital, and

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

. With 49% of its residents living in rural areas, it is the least urbanized district in the state, and the voters are generally

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. The district is represented by Republican Neal Dunn of Panama City.

Characteristics

Florida's 2nd Congressional District is the largest congressional district in Florida by land area and consists of all of

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden,

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

Holmes Holmes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Holmes (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective * Holmes (given name), a list of people * Gordon Holmes, a penname used by Louis Trac ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, Jefferson, Leon,

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, Madison,

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) ...

, Wakulla, and Washington counties, as well as portions of Walton and Lafayette. Most of the territory now in the 2nd was the 9th District from 1963 to 1983; it has been the 2nd since 1983. For most of its existence, the 2nd and its predecessors were centered in

, the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital city, capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of ...

and

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Leon County. While the adjacent

1st First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and 3rd congressional districts had become the most conservative districts in the state by the 1990s, the 2nd District was historically more of a swing district. With a large population of students, government workers and university faculty, Tallahassee was far more liberal than the rest of the district. Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

received 62 percent of the Leon County vote in the 2008 presidential election, but Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

received 54 percent of the 2nd district's vote overall. The district had become somewhat friendlier to Republicans when conservative-leaning Panama City was shifted from the 1st District. The district was significantly redrawn in a court-ordered redistricting that took effect for the 2016 election, following a lawsuit that challenged the district as gerrymandered, preventing African Americans from being able to elect representatives of their choice although they comprised a significant part of the population in the state. Under the new map, most of Tallahassee, along with nearly all of the 2nd's black residents, were drawn into the 5th District. To make up for the loss in population, the 2nd was shifted slightly to the south to take in territory previously in the nearby 3rd and 11th districts. On paper, the new 2nd was more than 12 points more Republican than its predecessor.

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

had carried the old 2nd in 2012 although he received only 52 percent of the vote. By comparison, Romney would have carried the new 2nd with 64 percent of the vote in 2012, making it on paper the third-most Republican district in the state.

Voting

Recent election results from statewide races

Voter registration

Composition

For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and communities:https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/cong_dist/cd118/cd_based/ST12/CD118_FL02.pdf Bay County (13) : All 13 communities Calhoun County (2) : Altha, Blountstown Franklin County (4) : All 4 communities Gadsden County (6) : All 6 communities Gadsden County (2) : Port St. Joe, Wewahitchka Holmes County (5) : All 5 communities Jackson County (11) :All 11 communities Jefferson County (6) : All 6 communities Lafayette County (1) :

Day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

(part; also 3rd) Leon County (7) : All 7 communities Liberty County (4) : All 4 communities Madison County (3) : All 3 communities Taylor County (2) :

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

, Steinhatchee Wakulla County (4) : All 4 communities Walton County (1) : DeFuniak Springs Washington County (5) : All 5 communities

List of members representing the district

Election results

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

2024

Historical district boundaries

File:FL02 109.PNG, File:Florida US Congressional District 2 (since 2013).tif, File:FL02 115.png,

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

Notes

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