| State: | North Carolina |
| District Number: | 5 |
| Image Caption: | Interactive map of district boundaries |
| Representative: | Virginia Foxx |
| Party: | Republican |
| Residence: | Banner Elk |
| Population: | 754,512 |
| Population Year: | 2022 |
| Median Income: | $54,503[1] |
| Percent White: | 72.7 |
| Percent Hispanic: | 10.2 |
| Percent Black: | 11.7 |
| Percent Asian: | 1.4 |
| Percent More Than One Race: | 3.4 |
| Percent Other Race: | 0.6 |
| Cpvi: | R+13[2] |
North Carolina's 5th congressional district covers the central western portion of North Carolina from the Appalachian Mountains to the western suburbs of the Piedmont Triad. The district borders Tennessee and Virginia, with the bulk of its territory in the mountains; it stretches just far enough to the east to grab its share of Forsyth County, home to most of its population.
The district is overwhelmingly Republican. Large portions were controlled by Republicans even during the "Solid South" era as much of northwestern North Carolina was Quaker[3] or mountaineer and therefore resisted secession.[4] Two counties in the district – Avery and Yadkin – have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since their creation, and Wilkes County has never done so since before the Second Party System. For the 2020 election the district has been updated per House Bill 1029[5] enacted by the NC General Assembly on November 15, 2019, becoming Session Law 2019–249. District boundaries are based on 2010 census tabulation blocks.
On February 23, 2022, the North Carolina Supreme Court approved a new map which changed the 5th district boundaries to include Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Davie, Mitchell, Stokes, Surry, Watauga, Wilkes County and Yadkin Counties, most of Caldwell and part of Forsyth.[6]
The fifth district is currently represented by Virginia Foxx, a Republican.
Counties in the 2023–2025 district map:
| Member | Party | Years | Cong ress | Electoral history | District location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District established June 16, 1790 | ||||||||
| align=left | John Sevier | Pro-Administration | nowrap | June 16, 1790 – March 3, 1791 | Elected in 1790. District ceded by the state to the Federal government in 1789 but permitted to serve anyway although he wasn't representing any part of a state. | 1790–1791 "Western division" | ||
| align=left | William B. Grove | Pro-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793 | Elected in 1791. Redistricted to the after original district ceded to federal government to later become Tennessee. | 1791–1793 "Cape Fear division" | ||
Nathaniel Macon | Anti-Administration | nowrap | March 4, 1793 – March 3, 1795 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1793. Re-elected in 1795. Re-elected in 1796. Re-elected in 1798. Re-elected in 1800. Redistricted to the . | 1793–1803 | |||
| Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1803 | ||||||
| align=left | James Gillespie | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1805 | Elected in 1803. Re-elected in 1804. Died. | 1803–1813 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1803–13). [7] | ||
| align=left | Thomas Kenan | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1805 – March 3, 1811 | Elected August 8, 1805 to begin Gillespie's term. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Retired. | |||
William R. King | Democratic-Republican | March 4, 1811 – November 4, 1816 | Elected in 1810. Re-elected in 1813. Re-elected in 1815. Resigned. | |||||
| 1813–1823 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43). [8] | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | November 4, 1816 – December 2, 1816 | ||||||
| align=left | Charles Hooks | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | December 2, 1816 – March 3, 1817 | Elected to finish King's term. Lost re-election. | |||
| align=left | James Owen | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1819 | Elected in 1817. Lost re-election. | |||
| Charles Hooks | Democratic-Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1823 | Elected in 1819. Re-elected in 1821. Re-elected in 1823. Lost re-election. | ||||
| nowrap | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 | 1823–1833 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43). [9] | ||||||
| align=left | Gabriel Holmes | Jacksonian | nowrap | March 4, 1825 – September 26, 1829 | Elected in 1825. Re-elected in 1827. Re-elected in 1829. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 26, 1829 – November 10, 1829 | ||||||
| align=left | Edward B. Dudley | Jacksonian | nowrap | November 10, 1829 – March 3, 1831 | Elected November 10, 1829 to finish Holmes's term and seated December 14, 1829. | |||
James I. McKay | Jacksonian | March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1837 | Elected in 1831. Re-elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1835. Re-elected in 1837. Re-elected in 1839. Re-elected in 1841. Redistricted to the . | |||||
| 1833–1843 Web site: North Carolina congressional district map (1813–43). [10] | ||||||||
| Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1843 | ||||||
| align=left | Romulus M. Saunders | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845 | Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1843. | 1843–1853 | ||
| align=left | James C. Dobbin | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847 | Elected in 1845. | |||
| align=left | Abraham W. Venable | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1853 | Elected in 1847. Re-elected in 1849. Re-elected in 1851. | |||
| align=left | John Kerr Jr. | Whig | nowrap | March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 | Elected in 1853. | 1853–1861 | ||
| align=left | Edwin G. Reade | Know Nothing | nowrap | March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857 | Elected in 1855. | |||
John A. Gilmer | Know Nothing | nowrap | March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859 | Elected in 1857. Re-elected in 1859. | ||||
| Opposition | nowrap | March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861 | ||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | March 3, 1861 – July 20, 1868 | Civil War and Reconstruction | |||||
| align=left | Israel G. Lash | Republican | nowrap | July 20, 1868 – March 3, 1871 | Elected to finish the short term. Re-elected in 1868. | 1868–1873 | ||
James M. Leach | Democratic | March 4, 1871 – March 3, 1875 | Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. | |||||
| 1873–1883 | ||||||||
Alfred M. Scales | Democratic | March 4, 1875 – December 30, 1884 | Elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Resigned when elected governor of North Carolina. | |||||
| 1883–1893 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | December 30, 1884 – January 28, 1885 | ||||||
| align=left | James W. Reid | Democratic | nowrap | January 28, 1885 – December 31, 1886 | Elected to finish Scales's term. Resigned. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | December 31, 1886 – March 3, 1887 | ||||||
| align=left | John M. Brower | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891 | Elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. | |||
| align=left | Archibald H. A. Williams | Democratic | nowrap | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893 | Elected in 1890. | |||
| align=left | Thomas Settle III | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1897 | Elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. | 1893–1903 | ||
William W. Kitchin | Democratic | March 4, 1897 – January 11, 1909 | Elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Resigned when elected governor of North Carolina. | |||||
| 1903–1913 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | January 11, 1909 – March 3, 1909 | ||||||
| align=left | John M. Morehead | Republican | nowrap | March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1911 | Elected in 1908. | |||
Charles M. Stedman | Democratic | March 4, 1911 – September 23, 1930 | Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Died. | |||||
| 1913–1933 | ||||||||
| Vacant | nowrap | September 23, 1930 – November 4, 1930 | ||||||
Franklin W. Hancock Jr. | Democratic | November 4, 1930 – January 3, 1939 | Elected to finish Stedman's term. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Re-elected in 1936. | |||||
| 1933–1943 | ||||||||
| align=left | Alonzo D. Folger | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1939 – April 30, 1941 | Elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Died. | |||
| Vacant | nowrap | April 30, 1941 – June 14, 1941 | ||||||
John H. Folger | Democratic | June 14, 1941 – January 3, 1949 | Elected to finish his brother's term. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. | |||||
| 1943–1953 | ||||||||
Richard T. Chatham | Democratic | January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1957 | Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. | |||||
| 1953–1963 | ||||||||
Ralph J. Scott | Democratic | January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1967 | Elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Re-elected in 1964. | |||||
| 1963–1973 | ||||||||
| align=left | Nick Galifianakis | Democratic | nowrap | January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1969 | Elected in 1966. Redistricted to the . | |||
Vinegar Bend Mizell | Republican | January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1975 | Elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. | |||||
| 1973–1983 | ||||||||
Stephen L. Neal | Democratic | January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1995 | Elected in 1974. Re-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. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired. | |||||
| 1983–1993 | ||||||||
| 1993–2003 | ||||||||
Richard Burr | Republican | January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2005 | Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Retired to run for U.S. Senator in 2004. | |||||
| 2003–2013 | ||||||||
Virginia Foxx | Republican | January 3, 2005 – present | 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. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. | |||||
| 2013–2017 | ||||||||
| 2017–2021 | ||||||||
| 2021–2023 | ||||||||
| 2023–2025 | ||||||||
| 2025–present --> | ||||||||
See also: Washington County, Tennessee and Cumberland Association. North Carolina's 5th congressional district was created in 1789 as "the Western division; ... which shall be formed by annexing two of the Superior Court districts together, in the following manner: that is ... the districts of Washington and Mero shall form the Western division".[11] The district of Mero consisted of the counties of Davidson, Sumner and Tennessee.[12]