This is the wealthiest and most Republican district in Wisconsin. 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.
Prior to the 2000 census (when Wisconsin lost a seat in Congress), the 5th District was a Milwaukee district, with vastly different boundaries and political history, represented often by Democrats or even Socialists. The district now numbered the 5th was primarily encompassed in Wisconsin's 9th congressional district until the abolition of the latter.