CQ Risk Rating: Safe Democrat 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| Marion Berry (D) | 120,266 | 60% |
| Susan Myshka (R) | 79,437 | 40% |
| George Moody | 253 | 0% |
| PRIMARY ELECTION: MAY 23, 2000 |
|
| | Votes | Percentage | | Democratic |
| Marion Berry | Unopposed |
| | Republican |
| Susan Myshka | 3,250 | 64% |
| Jason Sutfin | 1,820 | 36% |
Source: Congressional Quarterly. To suggest updates and corrections: politics.feedback@cq.com
Major Industry | Population | Cities | People | Race | Median Household Income | Unusual Features
ARKANSAS 1
:
Northeast - Jonesboro; West Memphis
One of the nation's poorest districts, the 1st stretches across
Arkansas' northeastern third, reaching from the Mississippi Delta through
fertile plains and into the hilly north, where the Ozark Mountains begin.
Poverty is most notably present within the largely white, older populations
in the northwest and the former sharecropping communities in the Democratic
Delta. In the mid-1990s, the predominately black Delta communities began
working with Arkansas State U. in Jonesboro to attract tourism and
manufacturing.
Some of the nation's largest rice and cotton producers farm the Delta
and house their corporate headquarters in the 1st. Cattle and poultry
businesses are prosperous in the north. Manufacturing is strong in several
cities, including Stuttgart, Batesville and Jonesboro. One of the nation's
largest steel production plants bolsters Blytheville, where the population
and economy sagged after Eaker Air Force Base closed in the early 1990s.
The 1st elects very few Republicans at the state or federal level.
Western Lonoke County - where Little Rock suburbanites are migrating and
some military personnel make their homes - leans Republican, as do some of
the 1st's northwestern counties. The heavily Christian district is socially
conservative in many areas.
Major Industry
Agriculture, steel production, manufacturing
Population
588,588 (1990)
Cities
Jonesboro, 52,656; West Memphis, 26,894; Blytheville, 18,743 (1996)
People
53% rural; 15% age 65+ (ranks third of four in state; top third nationally);
60% married couples, 28% married couples with children; 10% college educated
(ranks fourth of four in state; bottom third nationally); 43% white collar
(ranks fourth of four in state; bottom third nationally), 37% blue collar
(ranks first of four in state; top third nationally) (1990)
Race
81% white, 18% black, 0% Asian; 1% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
$18,180 (ranks fourth of four in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)
Unusual Features
Author John Grisham born in Jonesboro; Country singer Conway Twitty born and
raised in Helena; World duck calling championship in Stuttgart.
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 1
