New York's 8th congressional district for the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

is in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. It is currently represented by Representative

Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou Jeffries ( ; born August 4, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House minority leader and House Democratic Caucus#Leaders of the House Democrati ...

, the House Minority Leader. From 1993 to 2013, the district covered much of the west side of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and western coastal sections of Brooklyn. However, after

decennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

redistricting, it was redrawn to take in much of the territory previously in the 10th district. It now encompasses majority

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

and Caribbean-American Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville,

Canarsie Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...

, East New York, Ocean Hill,

Spring Creek A spring creek is a type of free flowing river whose name derives from its origin: an underground Spring (hydrology), spring or set of springs which produces sufficient water to consistently feed a unique river. The water flowing in a spring cree ...

, and

East Flatbush East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the Lon ...

; the mostly white neighborhoods of Bergen Beach, Gerritsen Beach,

Howard Beach Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, Queens, Ozone Park, to the south by J ...

Marine Park A marine park is a designated park consisting of an area of sea (or lake) set aside to achieve ecological sustainability, promote marine awareness and understanding, enable marine recreational activities, and provide benefits for Indigenous peo ...

, Mill Basin, and Sea Gate; and mixed neighborhoods like Clinton Hill, Flatlands, Fort Greene, Ozone Park,

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a List of Brooklyn neighborhoods, neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach ...

, and

Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...

. Most of the old 8th was renumbered as the 10th.

Recent election results from statewide races

History

1913–1963: :Parts of

1963–1983: :Parts of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

1983–1993: :Parts of

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, Nassau,

1993–2013: :Parts of

2013–2023: :Parts of

2023–present: :Parts of

Various New York districts have been numbered "8" over the years, including areas in New York City and various parts of upstate New York. The state's congressional districts had been redrawn in a manner that puts much of the territory of the old 10th Congressional district into the new 8th Congressional district. The election had a few competitors for what was then an open seat, with the 10th incumbent congressman

Edolphus Towns Edolphus "Ed" Towns Jr. (born July 21, 1934) is an American educator, military veteran, and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2013. A Democrat from New York, Towns was Chairman of the House Oversig ...

retiring. State assemblyman

faced off against

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

man Charles Barron. Jeffries won the primary and ultimately the general election.

Current composition

The 8th district is located entirely in the New York City borough of

. Brooklyn neighborhoods in the district include: * Bedford-Stuyvesant * Bergen Beach *

* Brownsville *

* City Line * East New York * Gerritsen Beach *

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

* Homecrest * Manhattan Beach *

* Mill Basin * New Lots * Ocean Hill * Sea Gate * Sheepshead Bay *

* Starrett City

List of members representing the district

1793–1833: one seat

1833–1843: two seats

From 1833 to 1843, two seats were apportioned to the district, elected at-large on a

general ticket The general ticket or party block voting (PBV), is a type of block voting in which voters opt for a party or a team of candidates, and the highest-polling party/team becomes the winner and receives 100% of the seats for this multi-member distric ...

1843–present: one seat

The 8th district was a Queens-based seat until the 1992 redistricting. At that time much of the old 8th district became the 5th district. The new 8th district was created by cobbling together portions of the Manhattan-based 17th district and the 13th district in Brooklyn.

Recent election results

In New York electoral politics there are numerous minor parties at various points on the political spectrum. Certain parties will invariably endorse either the Republican or Democratic candidate for every office, hence the state electoral results contain both the party votes, and the final candidate votes (Listed as "Recap").

Notes

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
* Election date from the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives *

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{{DEFAULTSORT:New York's 8th Congressional District 08 Constituencies established in 1793 1793 establishments in New York (state) Hakeem Jeffries