Contents

Louisiana's 4th congressional district

Louisiana's 4th congressional district
From 2023 to 2025 From 2025 Interactive map of district boundaries
Representative	Mike Johnson R–Benton
Distribution	58.65% urban[1] 41.35% rural
Population (2022)	761,461[2]
Median household income	$48,618[2]
Ethnicity	55.7% White 33.9% Black 4.5% Hispanic 3.7% Two or more races 1.0% Asian 0.7% Native American 0.5% other
Cook PVI	R+14[3]

Louisiana's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. stateofLouisiana. The district is located in the northwestern part of the state and is based in Shreveport-Bossier City. It also includes the cities of Minden, DeRidder, and Natchitoches.

The district is currently represented by Republican Mike Johnson, who has served as Speaker of the House of Representatives since October 2023.

History[edit]

The 4th congressional district was created in 1843, the first new district in the state in 20 years. It was gained after the 1840 U.S. census.

For most of the next 150 years, the 4th was centered on Shreveport and northwestern Louisiana. However, in 1993, Louisiana lost a congressional district, based on population figures. The state legislature shifted most of Shreveport's white residents into the 5th congressional district. Republican Jim McCrery ran for election in the new 5th and won, defeating Democrat Jerry Huckaby, who represented the old 5th for eight terms.

Meanwhile, the 4th was reconfigured as a 63-percent African American-majority district, stretching in a roughly "Z" shape from Shreveport to Baton Rouge. Democrat Cleo Fields was elected for two terms as the representative of the 4th congressional district. When the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated the boundaries of the new 4th congressional district as unconstitutional, the Louisiana legislature redrew the district to encompass most of Northwest Louisiana, closely resembling its pre-1993 configuration. It is white majority. McCrery was elected in 1996 to this seat.

The 2024 Allen v. Milligan decision dictated a new map to be drawn to be African American-majority; as such, the 4th district contributes parts of Shreveport, half of DeSoto Parish, and most of Natchitoches and St Landry Parishes to the redrawn 6th district, while absorbing Lincoln, Jackson, Winn, and part of Rapides Parish from the 5th.^[4] This also shifted the 4th from being the state's most competitive district with a Cook PVI of R+14 to the most solidly Republican with a PVI of R+26.

Recent presidential elections[edit]

List of members representing the district[edit]

Name	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	Location
District created March 4, 1843
Pierre Bossier (Natchitoches)	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – April 24, 1844	28th	Elected in 1842. Died.
Vacant		April 24, 1844 – December 2, 1844
Isaac Edward Morse (St. Martinville)	Democratic	December 2, 1844 – March 3, 1851	28th 29th 30th 31st	Elected to finish Bossier's term. Also elected to the next full term. Re-elected in 1846. Re-elected in 1848. Lost re-election.
John Moore (New Iberia)	Whig	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	32nd	Elected in 1850. Retired.
Roland Jones (Shreveport)	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd	Elected in 1852. Retired.
John M. Sandidge (Pineville)	Democratic	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1859	34th 35th	Elected in 1854. Re-elected in 1856. Retired.
John M. Landrum (Shreveport)	Democratic	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	36th	Elected in 1858. Vacated seat due to Civil War.
Vacant		March 4, 1861 – July 18, 1868	37th 38th 39th 40th	Civil War and Reconstruction
Michel Vidal (Opelousas)	Republican	July 18, 1868 – March 3, 1869	40th	Elected to finish the vacant term. Retired to become U.S. consul to Tripoli, Libya.
Vacant		March 4, 1869 – May 23, 1870	41st
Joseph P. Newsham (St. Francisville)	Republican	May 23, 1870 – March 3, 1871		Successfully contested election of Michael Ryan. Retired.
James McCleery (Shreveport)	Republican	March 4, 1871 – November 5, 1871	42nd	Elected in 1870. Died.
Vacant		November 5, 1871 – December 3, 1872
Alexander Boarman (Shreveport)	Liberal Republican	December 3, 1872 – March 3, 1873		Elected to finish McCleery's term. Retired.
Vacant		March 4, 1873 – November 24, 1873	43rd	Representative-elect Samuel Peters died before the term began.
George Luke Smith (Shreveport)	Republican	November 24, 1873 – March 3, 1875		Elected to finish Peters's term. Lost re-election.
William Mallory Levy (Natchitoches)	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	44th	Elected in 1874. Lost renomination.
Joseph Barton Elam (Mansfield)	Democratic	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1881	45th 46th	Elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Retired due to injuries.
Newton C. Blanchard (Shreveport)	Democratic	March 4, 1881 – March 12, 1894	47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd	Elected in 1880. Re-elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Resigned when appointed U.S. senator.
Vacant		March 12, 1894 – May 12, 1894	53rd
Henry Warren Ogden (Benton)	Democratic	May 12, 1894 – March 3, 1899	53rd 54th 55th	Elected to finish Blanchard's term. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Retired.
Phanor Breazeale (Natchitoches)	Democratic	March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1905	56th 57th 58th	Elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Lost renomination.
John T. Watkins (Minden)	Democratic	March 4, 1905 – March 3, 1921	59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th	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. Lost renomination.
John N. Sandlin (Minden)	Democratic	March 4, 1921 – January 3, 1937	67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th	Elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Overton Brooks (Shreveport)	Democratic	January 3, 1937 – September 16, 1961	75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th	Elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Re-elected in 1940. Re-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. Died.
Vacant		September 16, 1961 – December 19, 1961	87th
Joe Waggonner Jr. (Plain Dealing)	Democratic	December 19, 1961 – January 3, 1979	87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th	Elected to finish Brooks's term. 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. Re-elected in 1976. Retired.
Buddy Leach (Leesville)	Democratic	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981	96th	Elected in 1978. Lost re-election.
Buddy Roemer (Bossier City)	Democratic[5]	January 3, 1981 – March 14, 1988	97th 98th 99th 100th	Elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Resigned when elected governor.
Vacant		March 14, 1988 – April 16, 1988	100th
Jim McCrery (Shreveport)	Republican	April 16, 1988 – January 3, 1993	100th 101st 102nd	Elected to finish Roemer's term. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Redistricted to the 5th district.
Cleo Fields (Baton Rouge)	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997	103rd 104th	Elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Redistricted to the 5th district and retired.
Jim McCrery (Shreveport)	Republican	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2009	105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th	Redistricted from the 5th district and 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.	1997–2003 [data missing]
					2003–2013
John C. Fleming (Minden)	Republican	January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2017	111th 112th 113th 114th	Elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
					2013–2023
Mike Johnson (Benton)	Republican	January 3, 2017 – present	115th 116th 117th 118th	Elected in 2016. Re-elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022.
					2023–2025

Recent election results[edit]

2002[edit]

2004[edit]

2006[edit]

2008[edit]

2010[edit]

2012[edit]

2014[edit]

2016[edit]

2018[edit]

2020[edit]

2022[edit]

See also[edit]

• Louisiana's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

References[edit]

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

31°47′31″N 93°10′47″W / 31.79194°N 93.17972°W / 31.79194; -93.17972