With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+11, it is one the most Republican districts in Wisconsin.[2]George W. Bush carried the district in 2004 with 63% of the vote. The 5th District was the only district in Wisconsin that John McCain won in 2008, giving 57.73% of the vote to McCain and 41.28% to Barack Obama. In 2024, Donald Trump carried the district with 60.24% of the vote, the second most only behind the 7th district.[3]
For most of the 20th century, the 5th District was a Milwaukee-based district. It had vastly different boundaries from the current 5th, as well as a dramatically different political history, represented often by Democrats or even Socialists. From 1983 to 2003, it covered the northern half of Milwaukee, including downtown, as well as some suburbs to the north. Meanwhile, most of the territory now in the 5th was part of the 9th district from 1965 to 2003. After Wisconsin lost a district in the 2000 census, all of Milwaukee was merged into the 4th district, while the old 9th essentially became the new 5th.
It is the wealthiest congressional district in the state of Wisconsin.[4]
For the 118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the 2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties, towns, and municipalities:[12]
The part of the city of Milwaukee contained by a line extending from the point where N. 60th St. intersects with W. Wright St. at the city limits, following N. 60th St. north to Burleigh St., west to Lisbon Ave., northwest to Wauwatosa Ave., north to Hampton Ave., east to the city limits, then following the city limits to Lake Michigan, following the shore of Lake Michigan south to the mouth of the Milwaukee River, following the river west to the intersection with the Menomonee River, then following the Menomonee River west to the point where it intersects with S. 39th St., then south to the city limits
The part of the city of Milwaukee north of the line extending from the point where E. St. Paul Ave. meets Lake Michigan, following E. St. Paul Ave. west as it becomes W. St. Paul Ave., continuing west to N. 32nd St., south to I-94, west to S. 39th St., them south to the city limits
The part of the city of Milwaukee north of the line extending from the point where I-94 intersects with the western city limits, following I-94 east to the point where it intersects the Menomonee River, then following the river east to the point where it merges with the Milwaukee River, then following the Milwaukee River north to E. Juneau Ave., then east to N. Van Buren St., south to E. State St., east to N. Cass St., south to E. Kilbourn Ave., and east to Lake Michigan
The part of the city of Milwaukee north of the line extending from the point where I-94 intersects with the western city limits, following I-94 east to the point where it intersects the Menomonee River, then following the river east to the point where it merges with the Milwaukee River, then following the Milwaukee River north to E. Juneau Ave., then east to N. Edison St., south to E. Highland Ave., east to N. Water St., south to E. Kilbourn St., east to N. Broadway, south to E. Wisconsin Ave., east to N. Jefferson St., north to E. Mason St., east to N. Jackson St., north to E. State St., west to N. Broadway, north to E. Knapp St., east to N. Jefferson St., north to E. Knapp St., east to N. Jefferson St., north to E. Ogden Ave., east to N. Van Buren St., south to E. Juneau Ave., east to N. Marshall, south to E. Mason St., and east to Lake Michigan
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