Eighteen Representatives had been elected in the previous election, 15 Democratic-Republicans and 3 Federalists. All three Federalists and two of the Democratic-Republicans were quids, an alliance of moderate Democratic-Republicans and Federalists. One seat held by a Democratic-Republican had become vacant prior to this election and was filled in a special election held at the same time as this election.
Congressional districts
Pennsylvania was divided into 11 districts, of which four were plural districts with 11 Representatives between them, with the remaining 7 Representatives elected from single-member districts. The districts were:
Luzerne County's western border was altered between the 1806 and 1808 elections, altering the boundary between the 2nd and 5th districts
Note: Many of these counties covered much larger areas than they do today, having since been divided into smaller counties
Election results
Thirteen incumbents (10 Democratic-Republicans and 3 Federalists) ran for re-election, of whom 11 won re-election. The incumbents Jacob Richards (DR) of the 1st district, John Hiester (DR) of the 3rd district, Daniel Montgomery (DR) of the 5th district and William Hoge (DR) of the 10th district did not run for re-election. There was also a vacancy in the 1st district. One seat changed from Federalist to Democratic-Republican control.