| State: | Alabama |
| District Number: | 5 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries |
| Representative: | Dale Strong |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Huntsville |
| English Area: | 4,689 |
| Distribution Ref: | [1] |
| Percent Urban: | 65.53 |
| Percent Rural: | 34.47 |
| Population: | 743,238[2] |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $73,698[3] |
| Percent White: | 68.4 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 6.6 |
| Percent Black: | 17.2 |
| Percent Asian: | 1.9 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 4.9 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.4 |
| Percent Native American: | 0.6 |
| Percent Blue Collar: | 29.6 |
| Percent White Collar: | 57.1 |
| Percent Gray Collar: | 13.3 |
| Cpvi: | R+17[4] |
Alabama's 5th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Alabama, which elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives. It encompasses the counties of Lauderdale, Limestone, Madison, Morgan and most of Jackson. It is currently represented by Republican Dale Strong, a former Madison County Commissioner. Strong was first elected in 2022 following the retirement of Republican incumbent Mo Brooks.
Two major economic projects have lastingly impacted the 5th district and have indelibly dictated the politics of North Alabama for most of the 20th Century. Before 1933, the Northern Alabama counties were characteristically poor, white and rural. The Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) arrival changed much of that, slowly transforming the demographic towards technical and engineering employees. The second major project was the space and rocketry programs including Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville where the first large U.S. Ballistic missiles were developed. Additionally, NASA built the Marshall Space Flight Center in the Huntsville-Decatur area during the 1960s. In the late 1950s Northern Alabama came to be dominated by the high-tech and engineering industries, a trend which has continued up to the present. In recent years, the United Launch Alliance has located its research center in Decatur. As a result, Huntsville has become the second largest and fastest growing metropolitan area in Alabama.
For a time, the district bucked the increasing Republican trend in Alabama. It was the only district in the state that supported Walter Mondale in 1984, but hasn't supported a Democrat for president since then. Democrats continue to hold most offices at the local level, and continued to hold most of the district's seats in the Alabama state legislature until the Republicans swept nearly all of north Alabama's seats in 2010. In the mid-1990s, it was a seriously contested seat, with longtime Democratic incumbent Bud Cramer winning reelection by only 1,770 votes in 1994. However, Cramer was elected five more times with 70 percent or more of the vote and even ran unopposed in the Democratic landslide year of 2006. Cramer did not seek reelection in 2008. Parker Griffith, a retired oncologist and State Senator, won the open seat in November 2008. However, in December 2009, Griffith became a Republican. Until Griffith's switch, the district had been one of the last in the former Confederacy not to have sent a Republican to the U.S. Congress since Reconstruction. Griffith was ousted in the Republican primary by former Representative Mo Brooks.
George W. Bush won 60% of the vote in this district in 2004. John McCain also carried the 5th district in 2008 with 60.91% of the vote while Barack Obama received 37.99%.
| Year | Office | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Bush 54–44% | |
| 2004 | President | Bush 60–39% | |
| 2008 | President | McCain 61–38% | |
| 2012 | President | Romney 64–35% | |
| 2016 | President | Trump 65–31% | |
| 2017 | Senate | Moore 49–49% | |
| 2020 | President | Trump 63–36% | |
| 2022 | Senate | Britt 67–30% |
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1833 | ||||||||
| align=left | John Murphy | Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835 | Elected in 1832. Retired. | |||
Francis Strother Lyon | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837 | Elected in 1834. Re-elected in 1836. Retired. | ||||
| Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839 | ||||||
| align=left | James Dellet | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1841 | Elected in 1838. Redistricted to the and lost re-election. | |||
| District inactive | nowrap | March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843 | All representatives elected . | |||||
| align=left | George S. Houston | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – March 4, 1849 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1842. Re-elected in 1844. Re-elected in 1846. Retired. | |||
| align=left | David Hubbard | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851 | Elected in 1848. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | George S. Houston | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1851 – January 21, 1861 | Elected in 1850. Re-elected in 1852. Re-elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Re-elected in 1858. Withdrew due to Civil War. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | January 21, 1861 – July 21, 1868 | Civil War and Reconstruction | |||||
| align=left | John Benton Callis | Republican | nowrap | July 21, 1868 – March 3, 1869 | Elected to finish the vacant term. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Peter Myndert Dox | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1873 | Elected in 1868. Re-elected in 1870. Retired. | |||
| align=left | John Henry Caldwell | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1877 | Elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Robert F. Ligon | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879 | Elected in 1876. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Thomas Williams | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1885 | Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Thomas William Sadler | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1887 | Elected in 1884. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | James E. Cobb | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1887 – April 21, 1896 | Elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Lost 1894 contested election. | |||
| align=left | Albert Taylor Goodwyn | Populist | nowrap | April 21, 1896 – March 3, 1897 | Won 1894 contested election. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Willis Brewer | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1897 – March 3, 1901 | Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Charles Winston Thompson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1901 – March 20, 1904 | Elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 20, 1904 – May 19, 1904 | ||||||
| align=left | James Thomas Heflin | Democratic | nowrap | May 19, 1904 – November 1, 1920 | Elected to finish Thompson's term. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Retired to run for U.S. senator and resigned when elected. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | November 1, 1920 – December 14, 1920 | ||||||
| align=left | William B. Bowling | Democratic | nowrap | December 14, 1920 – August 16, 1928 | Elected to finish Heflin's term. Also elected to the next full term. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Resigned to become judge for 5th Alabama Circuit. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | August 16, 1928 – November 6, 1928 | ||||||
| align=left | LaFayette L. Patterson | Democratic | nowrap | November 6, 1928 – March 3, 1933 | Elected to finish Bowling's term. Also elected to the next term the same day in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Miles C. Allgood | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1932. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Joe Starnes | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1945 | Elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | Albert Rains | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1963 | Elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Re-elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Redistricted to the . | |||
| District inactive | nowrap | January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965 | All representatives elected . | |||||
| align=left | Armistead I. Selden Jr. | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1969 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Retired to run for U.S. senator. | |||
| align=left | Walter Flowers | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1973 | Elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | Robert E. Jones Jr. | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1977 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Retired. | 1973–1983 | ||
Ronnie Flippo | Democratic | January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1991 | Elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Retired to run for Governor of Alabama. | |||||
| 1983–1993 | ||||||||
Robert E. Cramer | Democratic | January 3, 1991 – January 3, 2009 | Elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Retired. | |||||
| 1993–2003 | ||||||||
| 2003–2013 | ||||||||
Parker Griffith | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 2009 – December 22, 2009 | Elected in 2008. Switched parties. Lost renomination. | ||||
| Republican | nowrap | December 22, 2009 – January 3, 2011 | ||||||
Mo Brooks | Republican | January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2023 | Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Retired to run for U.S. Senator. | |||||
| 2013–2023 | ||||||||
Dale Strong | Republican | January 3, 2023 – present | Elected in 2022. | 2023–2025 | ||||
| 2025–present --> | ||||||||
These are the results from the previous ten election cycles in Alabama's 5th district.[5]