Michigan's 15th congressional district

"MI 15" redirects here. For other uses, see MI15 (disambiguation).

Michigan's 15th congressional district
Current Representative		John Dingell (D–Dearborn)
Distribution	87.67% urban, 12.33% rural
Population (2000)	662,563
Median income	$48,963
Ethnicity	80.9% White, 11.8% Black, 3.8% Asian, 2.8% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American, 1.9% other
Cook PVI	D+13

The 15th district boundaries for the 106th Congress, prior to redistricting in 2002. None of the territory contained in the old 15th district is within the current 15th district.

Michigan's 15th congressional district is a district in parts of Washtenaw and Wayne counties, and all of Monroe County. It includes the southwest suburbs of Detroit such as Romulus, Taylor, Inkster, and Dearborn Heights. It also includes the western portion of Dearborn. The most populous city to lie entirely in the district is Ann Arbor.

The district's politics have been dominated by the Dingell family since its creation after the 1930 United States Census. Its first congressman, John D. Dingell, Sr., was elected in 1932 and served until his death in 1955. His son, John, Jr. won a special election to succeed him and has held it ever since. John, Jr. is the current Dean (longest-serving member) of the House of Representatives.

The 15th district, which contains the university towns of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti (in which the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, respectively), has left-of-center voting tendencies. Its Cook PVI rating is D+13, meaning it supports Democratic candidates at a rate of 13 percentage points greater than the national average.

This district will become obsolete for the 113th Congress in 2013 as congressional district lines get redrawn to accommodate the loss of the seat due to redistricting as a result of the 2010 Census.

Along with the 1st district and the now-defunct 16th district, the 15th has been historically frequently represented by politicians of Polish descent. Three of the district's six elected representatives (Dingell Jr. was elected twice and before that he was a representative from 16th district, which was later dissolved) have been Polish-Americans.

Major cities

• Ann Arbor
• Dearborn
• Taylor
• Dearborn Heights
• Inkster
• Romulus
• Ypsilanti
• Monroe

List of representatives

Representative	Party	Tenure	Congress	Note
District Created		March 3, 1933
John D. Dingell, Sr.	Democratic	March 3, 1933 – September 19, 1955	73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th	Died
Vacant		September 19, 1955 – December 13, 1955	84th
John Dingell, Jr.	Democratic	December 13, 1955 – January 3, 1965	84th 85th 86th 87th 88th	Redistricted to the 16th district
William D. Ford	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1993	89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd	Redistricted to the 13th district
Barbara-Rose Collins	Democratic	January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1997	103rd 104th	Redistricted from the 13th district; Lost renomination
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick	Democratic	January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003	105th 106th 107th	Redistricted to the 13th district
John Dingell, Jr.	Democratic	January 3, 2003 – present	108th 109th 110th 111th 112th	Redistricted from the 16th district, Incumbent

References

• U.S. Representatives 1837-2003, Michigan Manual 2003-2004
• 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