| State: | Indiana |
| District Number: | 1 |
| Image Name: | Indiana's 1st congressional district (since 2023).png |
| Image Width: | 400 |
| Image Caption: | Indiana's 1st congressional district since January 3, 2023 |
| Representative: | Frank J. Mrvan |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Residence: | Highland, Lake County |
| English Area: | 2,209.37 |
| Metric Area: | 5,722.27 |
| Percent Urban: | 87.02 |
| Percent Rural: | 12.98 |
| Population: | 755,538 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $69,580[1] |
| Percent White: | 59.4 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 16.5 |
| Percent Black: | 18.5 |
| Percent Asian: | 1.4 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 3.7 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.5 |
| Cpvi: | D+3[2] |
Indiana's 1st congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress in Northwestern Indiana. The district is based in Gary and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs. It consists of all of Lake and Porter counties, as well as most of the northwestern part of La Porte County, on the border with Michigan. Redistricting passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2011 shifted the district's boundaries, effective January 2013, to include all of Lake and Porter counties and the western and northwestern townships of La Porte County, while moving Benton, Jasper and Newton counties out of the district.
The district is currently represented by Democrat Frank J. Mrvan. He was sworn in on January 3, 2021.
The district's character is very different from the rest of Indiana. It includes almost all of the Indiana side of the Chicago metropolitan area. While Porter and LaPorte are swing counties, Lake County is heavily Democratic. Lake County contains two-thirds of the district's population, which is enough to make the 1st a relatively safe Democratic seat. The district has not elected a Republican to Congress in 94 years, making it one of the longest continuously Democratic districts in the nation. Among Indiana's congressional districts, only the Indianapolis-based 7th District is more Democratic.
| Year | Office | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | President | Al Gore 56 – George W. Bush 42% | |
| 2004 | President | John Kerry 55 – George W. Bush 44% | |
| 2008 | President | Barack Obama 63.3 – John McCain 35.8% | |
| 2012 | President | Barack Obama 61.2 – Mitt Romney 37.4% | |
| 2016 | President | Hillary Clinton 54.1 – Donald Trump 41.5% | |
| 2020 | President | Joe Biden 53.6 – Donald Trump 44.8% |
| County | Seat | Population | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | Lake | Crown Point | 499,689 | |
| 91 | LaPorte | La Porte | 111,675 | |
| 127 | Porter | Valparaiso | 174,791 |
| Representative | Party | Term | Cong ress | Electoral history | width=350 | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District created March 4, 1823 | ||||||||
| align=left | William Prince | Democratic- Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1823 – September 8, 1824 | Elected in 1822. Announced retirement then died. | 1823–1833 Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Greene, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Morgan, Orange, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Posey, Putnam, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vigo, and Warrick Counties | ||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 8, 1824 – December 23, 1824 | ||||||
| align=left | Jacob Call | Democratic- Republican | nowrap | December 23, 1824 – March 3, 1825 | Elected only to finish Prince's term, but not the next term. | |||
| align=left | Ratliff Boon | Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1827 | Elected in 1824. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Thomas H. Blake | Anti-Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829 | Elected in 1826. Lost re-election. | |||
Ratliff Boon | Jacksonian | March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1837 | Elected in 1828. Re-elected in 1831. Re-elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1835. Re-elected in 1837. Retired. | |||||
| 1833–1843 | ||||||||
| Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839 | ||||||
| align=left | George H. Proffit | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843 | Elected in 1839. Re-elected in 1841. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Robert D. Owen | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847 | Elected in 1843. Re-elected in 1845. Lost re-election. | 1843–1853 | ||
| align=left | Elisha Embree | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849 | Elected in 1847. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Nathaniel Albertson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851 | Elected in 1849. Lost renomination. | |||
| align=left | James Lockhart | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853 | Elected in 1851. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Smith Miller | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1857 | Elected in 1852. Re-elected in 1854. Retired. | 1853–1863 | ||
| align=left | James Lockhart | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1857 – September 7, 1857 | Elected in 1856. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 7, 1857 – December 7, 1857 | ||||||
| align=left | William E. Niblack | Democratic | nowrap | December 7, 1857 – March 3, 1861 | Elected to finish Lockhart's term. Re-elected in 1858. Retired. | |||
John Law | Democratic | March 4, 1861 – March 3, 1865 | Elected in 1860. Re-elected in 1862. Retired. | |||||
| 1863–1873 | ||||||||
William E. Niblack | Democratic | March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1875 | Elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Re-elected in 1868. Re-elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Retired. | |||||
| 1873–1883 | ||||||||
| align=left | Benoni S. Fuller | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879 | Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Retired. | |||
| align=left | William Heilman | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883 | Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | John J. Kleiner | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887 | Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Lost renomination. | 1883–1893 | ||
| align=left | Alvin P. Hovey | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1887 – January 17, 1889 | Elected in 1886. Resigned when elected Governor of Indiana. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | January 17, 1889 – January 29, 1889 | ||||||
| align=left | Francis B. Posey | Republican | nowrap | January 29, 1889 – March 3, 1889 | Elected to finish Hovey's term. Lost election to the next term. | |||
| align=left | William F. Parrett | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1893 | Elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Arthur H. Taylor | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1895 | Elected in 1892. Lost re-election. | 1893–1903 | ||
James A. Hemenway | Republican | March 4, 1895 – March 3, 1905 | Elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904, but resigned when elected U.S. Senator. | |||||
| 1903–1913 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 4, 1905 – May 16, 1905 | ||||||
| align=left | John H. Foster | Republican | nowrap | May 16, 1905 – March 3, 1909 | Elected to finish the vacant term. Re-elected in 1906. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | John W. Boehne | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1913 | Elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Retired. | |||
| align=left | Charles Lieb | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917 | Elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Retired. | 1913–1933 | ||
| align=left | George K. Denton | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1919 | Elected in 1916. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Oscar R. Luhring | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1919 – March 3, 1923 | Elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | William E. Wilson | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1925 | Elected in 1922. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | Harry E. Rowbottom | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1931 | Elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | John W. Boehne Jr. | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933 | Elected in 1930. Redistricted to the . | |||
| align=left | William T. Schulte | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1943 | Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Lost renomination. | 1933–1933 | ||
Ray J. Madden | Democratic | January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1977 | Elected in 1942. Re-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. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Lost renomination. | 1943–1953 | ||||
| 1953–1963 | ||||||||
| 1963–1973 | ||||||||
| 1973–1983 | ||||||||
| align=left | Adam Benjamin Jr. | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1977 – September 7, 1982 | Elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 7, 1982 – November 2, 1982 | ||||||
Katie B. Hall | Democratic | November 2, 1982 – January 3, 1985 | Elected to finish Benjamin's term. Re-elected in 1982. Lost renomination. | |||||
| 1983–1993 | ||||||||
Pete Visclosky | Democratic | January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2021 | Elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-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. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Retired. | |||||
| 1993–2003 | ||||||||
| 2003–2013 | ||||||||
| 2013–2023 | ||||||||
Frank J. Mrvan | Democratic | January 3, 2021 – present | Elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2023–present | ||||||||
| County | Seat | Population | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | Lake | Crown Point | 498,700 | |
| 127 | Porter | Valparaiso | 173,215 |
As of 2021, Indiana's 1st congressional district is composed of Lake (pop. 496,005) and Porter (pop. 164,343) counties as well as part of LaPorte County (pop. 111,467), which is also partly within Indiana's 2nd district. Michigan City and five townships (Clinton, Coolspring, Dewey, New Durham, and Springfield) exist entirely in the 1st district. La Porte and eleven townships (Hanna, Hudson, Johnson, Lincoln, Noble, Pleasant, Prairie, Scipio, Union, Washington, and Wills) are split between the 1st and 2nd districts by Indiana West 500N and Indiana South/North 600W.
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