There have been 94 African-Americans elected to the House since Reconstruction. On Saturday, Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) became just the third to be defeated in a general election.

Of the three, Jefferson is the first Democrat. The others:

Oscar De Priest (R-IL) —
first elected: 1928
defeated by: Arthur Mitchell (D) in 1934

Gary Franks (R-CT) —
first elected: 1990
defeated by: Jim Maloney (D) in 1996

In addition, 13 others were defeated in the Democratic primary, including one who was beaten on two separate occasions. They were:

Adam Clayton Powell (NY) —
first elected: 1944
defeated by: Charles Rangel in 1970 primary

Robert Nix (PA) —
first elected: 1958
defeated by: William Gray III in 1978 primary

Bennett Stewart (IL) —
first elected: 1978
defeated by: Harold Washington in 1980 primary

Katie Hall (IN) —
first elected: 1982
defeated by: Peter Visclosky in 1984 primary

Alton Waldon (NY) —
first elected: 1986
defeated by: Floyd Flake in 1986 primary

Gus Savage (IL) —
first elected: 1980
defeated by: Mel Reynolds in 1992 primary

Charles Hayes (IL) —
first elected: 1983
defeated by: Bobby Rush in 1992 primary

Craig Washington (TX) —
first elected: 1989
defeated by: Sheila Jackson-Lee in 1994 primary

Lucien Blackwell (PA) —
first elected: 1990
defeated by: Chaka Fattah in 1994 primary

Barbara-Rose Collins (MI) —
first elected: 1990
defeated by: Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick in 1996 primary

Earl Hilliard (AL) —
first elected: 1992
defeated by: Artur Davis in 2002 primary

Cynthia McKinney (GA) —
first elected: 1992
defeated by: Denise Majette in 2002 primary
elected again: 2004
defeated by: Hank Johnson in 2006 primary

Albert Wynn (MD) —
first elected: 1992
defeated by: Donna Edwards in 2008 primary


categories: A Historical Look Back, House Calls

9:13 - December 8, 2008

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