After the 2000 census, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was divided into 19 congressional districts, decreasing from 21 due to reapportionment.
After the 2010 census, the number of districts decreased again to 18. In the 2022 midterms, per the 2020 United States census, Pennsylvania lost one congressional seat, bringing the delegation's number to 17 districts. [1]
The congressional delegation from Pennsylvania consists of 17 members. In the current delegation, 9 representatives are Democrats and 8 are Republicans. The list below identifies the members of the United States House delegation from Pennsylvania, their service start dates, and current court-ordered district boundaries.
Current U.S. representatives from Pennsylvania | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
District | Member (Residence) [2] | Party | Incumbent since | CPVI (2022) [3] | District map |
1st | Brian Fitzpatrick (Levittown) | Republican | January 3, 2017 | EVEN | |
2nd | Brendan Boyle (Philadelphia) | Democratic | January 3, 2015 | D+20 | |
3rd | Dwight Evans (Philadelphia) | Democratic | November 14, 2016 | D+39 | |
4th | Madeleine Dean (Jenkintown) | Democratic | January 3, 2019 | D+7 | |
5th | Mary Gay Scanlon (Swarthmore) | Democratic | November 13, 2018 | D+14 | |
6th | Chrissy Houlahan (Devon) | Democratic | January 3, 2019 | D+5 | |
7th | Susan Wild (Allentown) | Democratic | November 27, 2018 | R+2 | |
8th | Matt Cartwright (Moosic) | Democratic | January 3, 2013 | R+4 | |
9th | Dan Meuser (Dallas) | Republican | January 3, 2019 | R+21 | |
10th | Scott Perry (Dillsburg) | Republican | January 3, 2013 | R+5 | |
11th | Lloyd Smucker (Lancaster) | Republican | January 3, 2017 | R+13 | |
12th | Summer Lee (Swissvale) | Democratic | January 3, 2023 | D+8 | |
13th | John Joyce (Hollidaysburg) | Republican | January 3, 2019 | R+25 | |
14th | Guy Reschenthaler (Peters Township) | Republican | January 3, 2019 | R+18 | |
15th | Glenn Thompson (Howard) | Republican | January 3, 2009 | R+21 | |
16th | Mike Kelly (Butler) | Republican | January 3, 2011 | R+13 | |
17th | Chris Deluzio (Aspinwall) | Democratic | January 3, 2023 | EVEN | |
Following the 2010 census, redistricting in Pennsylvania was controlled by elected officials from the Republican party. In 2012, Pennsylvania realigned a number of districts. A number of sitting congressional representatives had their districts modified or merged as part of the redistricting. The merger of districts 4 and 12 forced a primary runoff between the two sitting congressional representatives. [4]
The 2012 redistricting process resulted in a map that disproportionately favored Republican candidates. In the 2012 congressional elections, Democratic candidates won 50.5% of the total votes cast. [5] However, only five of the state's 18 federal Representatives (27.78%) were Democrats. [6]
On June 14, 2017, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit, alleging that the district boundaries constituted an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. [7] The case was eventually appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. On January 22, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the congressional districts were unlawfully gerrymandered in violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution. [8] The court ordered the General Assembly and the governor to adopt a remedied map, to be used for the 2018 congressional elections. [8] Pennsylvania Republicans requested a stay from the United States Supreme Court, to delay the drawing of new district boundaries; however, that request was denied on February 5, 2018. [9] The governor and General Assembly failed to reach an agreement regarding the district boundaries, thus the Pennsylvania Supreme Court drew its own remedial map. [10]
On February 19, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court released a new congressional map, to take effect for the May 15, 2018, primaries. [11] The Court voted to implement the new map by a 4–3 vote. [12] The map was designed with the assistance of Stanford University law professor Nathaniel Persily. [13] The districts in the Court's map were significantly more compact, and its map split fewer municipalities and counties than the prior Republican-drawn map. [14] While the GOP-drawn map had favored Republican candidates, the court-drawn map is expected not to favor one party over the other. [15]
Republican lawmakers from Pennsylvania requested that the Supreme Court block the implementation of the court-drawn map; however, on March 19, 2018, the United States Supreme Court denied their request. [16] A Pennsylvania federal district court dismissed a parallel suit on the same day. [17] Prior to the 2018 House elections, the Republicans had held 12 seats to 6 for the Democrats, and prior to the March 2018 special election in the 18th district, the delegation had consisted of 13 Republicans and 5 Democrats. The 2018 election resulted in 9 Democrats and 9 Republicans in the delegation.
North Carolina is currently divided into 14 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. After the 2000 census, the number of North Carolina's seats was increased from 12 to 13 due to the state's increase in population. In the 2022 elections, per the 2020 United States census, North Carolina gained one new congressional seat for a total of 14.
The 2003 Texas redistricting was a controversial intercensus state plan that defined new congressional districts. In the 2004 elections, this redistricting supported the Republicans taking a majority of Texas's federal House seats for the first time since Reconstruction. Democrats in both houses of the Texas Legislature staged walkouts, unsuccessfully trying to prevent the changes. Opponents challenged the plan in three suits, combined when the case went to the United States Supreme Court in League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry (2006).
Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district is a district in the state of Pennsylvania. It includes all of Chester County and the southeastern portion of Berks County including the city of Reading and its southeastern suburbs. The district is represented by Democrat Chrissy Houlahan, who has served in Congress since 2019. As currently drawn, the district is among the wealthiest in Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew the district in February 2018 after ruling the previous map unconstitutional.
Kentucky is currently divided into six congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. The number of congressional districts has been set at six since the 1990 redistricting cycle.
Ohio is divided into 15 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. After the 2010 census, Ohio lost two House seats due to slow population growth compared to the national average, and a new map was signed into law on September 26, 2011. Starting in the 2022 midterms, per the 2020 United States census, Ohio will lose a congressional seat.
California is the most populous U.S. state; as a result, it has the most representation in the United States House of Representatives, with 52 Representatives. Each Representative represents one congressional district.
Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district is located in Northwestern Pennsylvania. It contains all of Erie County, Crawford County, Mercer County, Lawrence County, Butler County, and parts of Venango County. The district is represented by Republican Mike Kelly.
Florida is divided into 28 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. After the 2020 census, the number of Florida's seats was increased from 27 to 28, due to the state's increase in population, and subsequent reapportionment in 2022.
Virginia is currently divided into 11 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. The death of Rep. Donald McEachin on November 28, 2022, left the 4th congressional district seat empty. Following the results of a special election to fill his seat on February 21, 2023, Jennifer McClellan made history by becoming Virginia's first black congresswoman.
Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district was a district including the city of Pittsburgh and parts of surrounding suburbs. A variety of working class and majority black suburbs located to the east of the city were included, such as McKeesport and Wilkinsburg. Also a major part of the district was a number of middle class suburbs that have historic Democratic roots, such as Pleasant Hills and Penn Hills. The district became obsolete following the 2020 United States census. It was largely replaced by Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district.
Vieth v. Jubelirer, 541 U.S. 267 (2004), was a United States Supreme Court ruling that was significant in the area of partisan redistricting and political gerrymandering. The court, in a plurality opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia and joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Clarence Thomas, with Justice Anthony Kennedy concurring in the judgment, upheld the ruling of the District Court in favor of the appellees that the alleged political gerrymandering was not unconstitutional. Subsequent to the ruling, partisan bias in redistricting increased dramatically in the 2010 redistricting round.
Redistricting in Pennsylvania refers to the decennial process of redrawing state legislative and federal congressional districts in Pennsylvania.
Gerrymandering is the practice of setting boundaries of electoral districts to favor specific political interests within legislative bodies, often resulting in districts with convoluted, winding boundaries rather than compact areas. The term "gerrymandering" was coined after a review of Massachusetts's redistricting maps of 1812 set by Governor Elbridge Gerry noted that one of the districts looked like a mythical salamander.
Ryan Anthony Costello is an American politician, lobbyist and attorney who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected to the Congress in the 2014 midterms. Costello previously served on the Chester County Board of Commissioners (2011–2015), which he chaired from 2013 to 2015.
The 2020 United States redistricting cycle is in progress following the completion of the 2020 United States census. In all fifty states, various bodies are re-drawing state legislative districts. States that are apportioned more than one seat in the United States House of Representatives are also drawing new districts for that legislative body.
REDMAP is a project of the Republican State Leadership Committee of the United States to increase Republican control of congressional seats as well as state legislatures, largely through determination of electoral district boundaries. The project has made effective use of partisan gerrymandering, by relying on previously unavailable mapping software such as Maptitude to improve the precision with which district lines are strategically drawn. The strategy was focused on swing blue states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, and Wisconsin where there was a Democratic majority but which they could swing towards Republican with appropriate redistricting. The project was launched in 2010 and estimated to have cost the Republican party around US$30 million.
Redistricting in North Carolina has been a controversial topic due to allegations and admissions of gerrymandering.
The 2018 Pennsylvania state elections took place on November 6, 2018. On that date, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania held elections for the following offices: Governor and Lieutenant Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Pennsylvania State Senate, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and various others. Primary elections took place on May 15, 2018.
League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al.—abbreviated League of Women Voters v. Commonwealth—was a decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on gerrymandering, concerning the power of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to draw maps based on partisan advantage. The Court ruled that the maps adopted by the Republican controlled legislature in 2011 was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander under the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
The 2010 United States redistricting cycle took place following the completion of the 2010 United States census. In all fifty states, various bodies re-drew state legislative districts. States that are apportioned more than one seat in the United States House of Representatives also drew new districts for that legislative body. The resulting new districts were first implemented for the 2011 and 2012 elections.