Located in west central Kentucky, the district includes Bowling Green, Owensboro, Elizabethtown, and a portion of eastern Louisville.

Former Representative Democrat William Natcher is noted for holding the record for most consecutive roll call votes in the history of Congress—more than 18,000 votes.

While Democrats still hold most local offices in the district, they tend to be very conservative on social issues, a trend that leads them to vote Republican in most national elections.

Until January 1, 2006, Kentucky did not track party affiliation for registered voters who were neither Democratic nor Republican.

[6] The Kentucky voter registration card does not explicitly list anything other than Democratic Party, Republican Party, or Other, with the "Other" option having a blank line and no instructions on how to register as something else.