The 2018 general election saw the Democrats gain four seats and the Republicans gain one seat, for a Democratic net gain of three seats, changing the state's representation from 12 to 6 Republican to a 9–9 tie. In addition, Pennsylvanians in several districts elected female candidates to the U.S. House, thus ending four years of all-male Congressional representation in the state.[3]
In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map, ruling it had been unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans.[4][5] New maps were subsequently adopted in February 2018, for use in the 2018 elections and took effect with representation in 2019.[2]
The 1st district previously consisted of central and South Philadelphia, the City of Chester, the Philadelphia International Airport and other small sections of Delaware County.[7] Under the new congressional map that was in place in 2019 (represented per 2018's elections), the first district overlaps with much of the former 8th district, which was represented by Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick took office in 2017, succeeding his brother, former Representative Mike Fitzpatrick. The new 1st district consists of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County.[7]
Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Bucks County commissioner[14]
Campaign
The race featured a number of negative ads between Reddick and Wallace. With Reddick's campaign releasing an ad calling Wallace a “Maryland multi-millionaire” and stating that he had case an absentee ballot cast from his second home in a South African “gated luxury estate”. The Wallace campaign responded with an ad higlishting Reddick flubbing a question about the so-called “global gag rule” during a campaign stop in Ottsville,[15] and for her having been registered as a Republican for most of her adult life.[16]
Many DC Democrats expressed excitement about Wallace's potential to spend big to defeat Fitzpatrick, especially in the expensive Philadelphia market. He loaned his campaign $2.5 million while Reddick only raised $363,000 and was shunned by most party strategists.[17]
Fitzpatrick held out to win re-election, despite many similar suburban districts held by Republicans falling to Democrats in the 2018 cycle. Fitzpatrick did this by establishing a reputation for himself as an independent centrist who attained endorsements from several usually-left-leaning and nonpartisan groups without enraging the more fervently pro-Trump wing of the Republican party. Analysts considered the Democratic nominee Scott Wallace an unusually weak candidate: he was a wealthy heir who moved to the district, opening up accusations of carpetbagging, and made several gaffes and missteps. Editor Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report wrote that Wallace was perhaps the weakest candidate of the 2018 cycle.[60]
District 2
2018 Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district election
The 2nd district consists of the northern half of Philadelphia. It mostly overlaps with the old 1st District. That district's incumbent, Democrat Bob Brady, had served since 1998, but did not run for reelection. The incumbent of the old 2nd district is Dwight Evans, but Evans opted to follow most of his constituents into the 3rd District.[7]
The new map drew the home of fellow Democrat Brendan Boyle, who had represented the neighboring 13th District since 2015, into the 2nd, leading to speculation that he would run for reelection there. Soon after the new map was released, Boyle confirmed that he would indeed run in the 2nd.[61]
The 3rd district was previously located in Northwestern Pennsylvania, but now covers downtown and northern Philadelphia, and overlaps with much of the previous 2nd district.[7] The incumbent from the 2nd district is Democrat Dwight Evans, who had held office since 2016. Evans defeated incumbent Democratic Representative Chaka Fattah in the 2016 Democratic primary, and then went on to be elected with 90% in both the general election and a simultaneous special election for the remainder of the term after Fattah resigned.
The old 4th district was in South Central Pennsylvania, but the new 4th district is centered in Montgomery County. The district overlaps with the former 13th district. The incumbent from this district, Democrat Brendan Boyle, could have sought re-election in either this district or the new 2nd district, which absorbed his home and most of old 13th's share of Philadelphia.[7] Boyle opted to run in the 2nd, making the 4th an open seat.
Democratic primary
State Senator Daylin Leach had announced that he would run for Congress in the old 7th District, but was expected to switch races after his home was drawn into the new 4th. However, on February 24, 2018, Leach succumbed to pressures from fellow Democrats, including Governor Tom Wolf, to abandon his congressional campaign in the face of accusations of sexual harassment. However, he remained in his Pennsylvania Senate seat.[65]
The old 5th district was in North Central Pennsylvania, but the new 5th district consists of Delaware County, portions of southern Philadelphia, and a sliver of Montgomery County. The district overlaps with much of the old 7th district, whose incumbent Republican Representative Pat Meehan chose not to seek re-election, due to allegations regarding a sexual harassment complaint that was settled with the use of taxpayer funds,[7][74] and subsequently resigned from office in April.
The 6th district consists of Chester County and Reading.[7] The incumbent is Republican Ryan Costello, who had represented the district since 2015. He was re-elected to a second term with 57% of the vote in 2016. On March 24, 2018, Costello announced that he would no longer seek re-election due to the growing Democratic voter demographic in the 6th district.[85] Costello formally withdrew his name on March 27.
The 7th district was formerly centered on Delaware County, but the new district consisted of much of the Lehigh Valley. The new 7th district overlapped with much of the former 15th district, which was represented by retired Republican Representative Charlie Dent, who resigned early.[7]
The 8th district was previously centered on Bucks County, but now consists of portions of Northeastern Pennsylvania, including the city of Scranton. The new district overlaps with much of the former 17th district, which was represented by Democratic Representative Matt Cartwright.[7] Cartwright had held office since 2013.
The old 9th district was in South Central Pennsylvania, but the new 9th district is in east central Pennsylvania. The new district overlaps with the old 11th district, which was represented by retiring Republican Representative Lou Barletta.[7]
The 10th district was previously in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but it now overlaps with much of the former 4th district in South Central Pennsylvania. Under the map released in 2018, the 10th district includes Harrisburg and a portion of York County.[7] The incumbent from the 4th district is Republican Scott Perry, who had represented his district since 2013. He was re-elected to a third term with 66% of the vote in 2016. Several Democrats sought to challenge Perry in 2018, with George Scott, a 20-year Army veteran and Lutheran pastor, receiving the party's nomination.[131][132][133]
The old 11th district was in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but the district now overlaps with much of the former 16th district in South Central Pennsylvania. The new district consists of Lancaster County and portions of York County. The incumbent from the former 16th district is Republican Lloyd Smucker, who had held office since 2017.[7]
Christina Hartman, a former nonprofit executive who lost against Smucker in 16th had filed for a rematch;[145] however, following the court-ordered redrawing, she considered switching to run in the more competitive 10th before withdrawing from the race altogether.[136]
Meteorologist Drew Anderson planned to run without party affiliation and expected to be listed that way on the November ballot.[152] However, he failed to file papers in time, and was not in the race.[153]
Debate
2018 Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district debate
The old 13th district was in Southeastern Pennsylvania, but the new district is in Western Pennsylvania. The new district overlaps with much of the old 9th district, which was represented by retiring Republican Representative Bill Shuster.[7]
The old 14th district consisted of the city of Pittsburgh and parts of surrounding suburbs, but the new district consists of suburbs to the south and west of Pittsburgh. The district overlaps with much of the former 18th district.[7] The winner of the 2018 special election, Democrat Conor Lamb, ran in the more competitive 17th district.[168]
The old 15th district was in Eastern Pennsylvania, but the new district is in Western Pennsylvania. The new district overlaps with much of the former 5th district, which was represented by Republican G.T. Thompson.[7] Thompson had held office since 2009.
The former 16th district was in Southeastern Pennsylvania, but the redrawn 16th district is in Northwestern Pennsylvania, overlapping with the former 3rd district.[7] The incumbent from the 3rd district was Republican Mike Kelly, who had represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected to a fourth term unopposed in 2016. Kelly had considered running for the U.S. Senate, but announced he would run for re-election instead.[171]
The former 17th district was in Northeastern Pennsylvania, but the new 17th district consists of suburbs west of Pittsburgh. The district overlaps with parts of the former 12th district, which was represented by Republican Keith Rothfus.[7] Rothfus had held office since 2013, and ran for reelection in the new 17th.[183]
The new map drew the home of Democrat Conor Lamb, who won a special election for the old 18th District, into the new 17th. The 17th is far less Republican than its predecessor, and voted for Democrats downballot, leading to speculation that Lamb would run for a full term in the 17th regardless of the special election result.[7] On March 14, Democratic officials in Beaver County, which is entirely within the 17th, received a written request from Lamb for their endorsement in the 2018 general election.[184] On March 20, Lamb formally filed to run for a full term in the 17th.[185]
The 18th district formerly consisted of the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, but the new district is now centered on Pittsburgh itself. The district overlaps with the former 14th district, which was represented by Democrat Michael F. Doyle.[7] Doyle had held office since 1995. He ran unopposed in the general election.
^Levy, Marc; Scolforo, Mark (November 7, 2018). "Democrats win US House seats, races for governor, US Senate". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved January 11, 2022. Mary Gay Scanlon, Madeleine Dean, Susan Wild and Chrissy Houlahan stand to become the first women from Pennsylvania to serve full terms in Congress since 2014
^League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, et. al. v Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et. al; No. 159 MM 2017 (January 22, 2018). "Order, Per Curiam"(PDF). Pennsylvania State Supreme Court. Archived from the original(PDF) on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020."Second, should the Pennsylvania General Assembly choose to submit a congressional districting plan that satisfies the requirements of the Pennsylvania Constitution, it shall submit such plan for consideration by the Governor on or before February 9, 2018. If the Governor accepts the General Assembly's congressional districting plan, it shall be submitted to this Court on or before February 15, 2018."
^Bowman, Bridget (August 31, 2017). "Why Democrats and Republicans See Opportunity in One House Race". Roll Call. Retrieved March 17, 2024. Some Democrats named Diane Ellis-Marseglia, the Democratic commissioner in Bucks County, as a potential candidate, but she said in a brief interview that she wants to remain in her current position.
^ ab"Candidates". electgoppatriots.org/. National Republican Congressional Committee. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
^"Individuals". scottwallacepa.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
^"Your Freedom is Under Attack! Vote On November 6th!". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023. The NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) has endorsed John Chrin for the U.S. House of Representatives in the 8th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.
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