Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 120

Last updated
Pennsylvania's 120th State
House of Representatives
district
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg
Pennsylvania House District 120.png
Representative
  Aaron Kaufer
R Luzerne
Demographics93.8%  White
3.4%  Black
2.2%  Hispanic
Population (2011)
  Citizens of voting age
62,171
50,332

The 120th Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Luzerne County and has been represented by Aaron Kaufer since 2015. The district includes the following areas: [1]

Contents

Representatives

RepresentativePartyYearsDistrict homeNote
Prior to 1969, seats were apportioned by county.
Frank J. O'Connell, Jr. Republican 1969–1978 Kingston Ran for State Senate
Franklin Coslett Republican1979–1986 Kingston Retired
Scott Dietterick Republican1987–1990 Kingston Defeated for reelection
Phyllis Mundy Democrat 1991 – 2015 Kingston Retired
Aaron Kaufer Republican2015 – present Kingston Incumbent

During the 1990s, the district was predominantly Republican, especially in the towns of Kingston, West Pittston, and Shavertown. In recent years, the district has become increasingly Democratic. 57 percent of voters in the district are registered Democrats. It is a district that was carried by Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Barack Obama in 2008. However, Republican Tom Corbett won the district in his race for governor in 2010. In 2012, incumbent President Obama won 55 percent of the district electorate. In 2016, businessman Donald Trump won the district. Kingston has been mostly Democratic since the late 2000s, West Pittston is now evenly split between the two parties, and Shavertown is only narrowly Republican now.

The current state representative for the district, lifelong Kingston resident Aaron Kaufer, is a Republican. He easily won his first election in November 2014 by a 56% to 44% margin over Democrat Eileen Cipriani of West Wyoming. Kaufer succeeded longtime Democratic representative Phyllis Mundy, who represented the district for 24 years before retiring in 2014.

The home seat of the district is Kaufer's hometown of Kingston, by far the largest municipality in the district.

Every representative that has served the 120th district has been a resident of Kingston.

Recent election results

PA House election, 2010:
Pennsylvania House, District 120
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Phyllis Mundy 10,15352.98
Republican Bill Goldsworthy6,15432.11
Libertarian Tim Mullen2,85814.91
Margin of victory3,99924.52
Turnout 19,165100
PA House election, 2012:
Pennsylvania House, District 120
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Democratic Phyllis Mundy 14,13356.12
Republican Aaron Kaufer 11,05043.88
Margin of victory3,08312.24Decrease2.svg 12.28
Turnout 25,183100
PA House election, 2014:
Pennsylvania House, District 120
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Aaron Kaufer 9,51456.01
Democratic Eileen Cipriani7,47243.99
Margin of victory2,04212.02
Turnout 16,986100
PA House election, 2016:
Pennsylvania House, District 120
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican Aaron Kaufer 18,84367.85
Democratic Robert McDonald8,92932.15
Margin of victory9,91435.69Increase2.svg 23.67
Turnout 27,772100

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Luzerne County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 890 square miles (2,300 km2) is land and 16 square miles (41 km2) is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 325,594, making it the most populous county in the northeastern part of the state. The county seat and largest city is Wilkes-Barre. Other populous communities include Hazleton, Kingston, Nanticoke, and Pittston. Luzerne County is included in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a total population of 555,426 as of 2017.

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References