{ { Infobox U.S. congressional district
| state = Kansas
| district number = 1
| image name =
| image width =
| image caption = Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
| representative = Tracey Mann
| party = Republican
| residence = Salina
| english area =
| metric area =
| percent urban =
| percent rural =
| population = 727,503<ref name=fastfacts>https://www.census.gov/fastfacts/
Kansas's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas. Commonly known as "The Big First", the district encompasses all or part of 64 counties spanning more than half of the state, making it the seventh-largest district in the nation that does not cover an entire state.
Located within the district are Manhattan, Salina, Dodge City, Garden City, Hays, McPherson, Hutchinson, and Lawrence. From 2011 to 2017, the district was represented by Republican Tim Huelskamp, who was originally elected in 2010 to succeed fellow Republican Jerry Moran, who in turn ran successfully for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Sam Brownback. Huelskamp was re-elected twice in 2012 and 2014 but lost the 2016 Republican primary for a fourth term to obstetrician Roger Marshall.
Marshall won re-election in 2018, then he was elected to the United States Senate in 2020. He was replaced in the House by former Lieutenant Governor Tracey Mann of Salina. Mann will become the first representative for the district to reside east of US Highway 281 since the district assumed its current configuration in the 88th Congress.
With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+18, it is the most Republican district in Kansas. Republicans dominate every level of government, often winning by over 65 percent of the vote on the occasion that they face any opposition at all. Since its creation in 1875, it has elected a Democrat once. In general, Riley County and Douglas County are the only counties in the district where Democrats are competitive, due to the sizable presence of the University of Kansas and Kansas State University. It covers two time zones (it includes all of Kansas's share of the Mountain Time Zone) and parts of three television markets (Topeka and Wichita, as well as Lincoln, Nebraska). Due to its size, its congressman usually becomes a statewide political figure. Proving this, since it assumed its present configuration in 1963, four of the district's former congressmen were later elected to the U.S. Senate: Bob Dole, Pat Roberts, Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall.
The district typically gives its congressmen very long tenures in Washington. From 1963 until 2011, it was held by just four members: Bob Dole, Keith Sebelius, Roberts and Moran.
History
Kansas had a single representative in the U.S. House of Representatives until after the 1870 U.S. census, which showed that the state was entitled to three members of the lower chamber of the national legislature. In 1872 three representatives-at-large were elected, but by the act of March 2, 1874, the legislature divided the state into three districts. The 1st congressional district was composed of the counties of Leavenworth, Doniphan, Brown, Nemaha, Marshall, Washington, Republic, Jewell, Smith, Phillips, Norton, Graham, Rooks, Osborne, Mitchell, Cloud, Clay, Ottawa, Ellis, Ellsworth, Russell, Saline, Dickinson, Lincoln, Riley, Pottawatomie, Jackson, Jefferson, Atchison, Davis (Geary), "and all that territory lying north of the second standard parallel".
No changes were made in until after the 1880 U.S. census, which gave the state seven representatives. On March 5, 1883, Governor George Washington Glick approved an act of the legislature which reduced the 1st congressional district to only include the counties of Nemaha, Brown, Doniphan, Pottawatomie, Jackson, Atchison, Jefferson and Leavenworth. The apportionment was amended by the act of March 13, 1897, which placed Shawnee County in the 1st congressional district and Pottawatomie County in the 4th congressional district.
Although the 1890 U.S. census showed the population of Kansas to be large enough to entitle the state to eight representatives, no additional district was created until 1905. By the act of March 9, 1905, the state was divided into eight districts with the 1st congressional district being composed of the counties of Nemaha, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Atchison, Jefferson, Leavenworth and Shawnee.