Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District
Prior to redistricting on March 19, 2018, the 16th congressional district was located in the southeastern part of the state, just west of Philadelphia. Previously, Northwestern Pennsylvania was represented by the 3rd congressional district. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew the district in February 2018 after ruling the previous map violated the state constitution due to partisan gerrymandering. What was the 16th district was modified to become the eleventh district, and the old third district likewise became the 16th, for the 2018 elections and representation thereafter.
Adams County, which includes Gettysburg, was located in the district in 1863, at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address. Democrat Alexander Coffroth was the district's representative at the time.
Recent election results from statewide races
Year | Office | Results |
---|---|---|
2008 | President | McCain 50% - 48% |
2012 | President | Romney 54% - 46% |
2016 | President | Trump 59% - 37% |
Senate | Toomey 58% - 37% | |
Attorney General | Rafferty Jr. 58% - 42% | |
Treasurer | Voit III 51% - 42% | |
Auditor General | Brown 53% - 41% | |
2018 | Senate | Barletta 51% - 47% |
Governor | Wagner 50% - 49% | |
2020 | President | Trump 60% - 39% |
Attorney General | Heidelbaugh 55% - 42% | |
Treasurer | Garrity 58% - 38% | |
Auditor General | DeFoor 59% - 36% | |
2022 | Senate | Oz 55% - 42% |
Governor | Mastriano 50% - 48% |
History
2003–2018
Created after the 2000 census, the 16th district was composed of a large portion of southern Chester County, most of Lancaster County, and a sliver of Berks County, including the city of Reading. The 16th stretched from the southwestern suburbs of Philadelphia in the east to the Susquehanna River in the west, and north to include areas around Reading.
In 2000, the 16th Congressional District was home to 646,328 residents, according to the U.S. census, and its population has increased since that year. Residents of Lancaster County made up the majority of the district's population, followed by Chester County and Berks County. The district was one of the Pennsylvania districts accused of being the result of gerrymandering. Before 2018's redistricting, PA-03 was rated a Solid Republican seat by Cook.
Pockets of urban areas exist in and around the cities of Lancaster, Reading, and West Chester.
2019
In February 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the previous map was unconstitutional due to gerrymandering and released a new congressional map. The 16th district was relocated to the northwestern part of the state. The new 16th includes the cities of Erie, Sharon, Hermitage, Butler and Meadville. After redistricting, PA-16 was rated as a likely Republican seat by Cook in 2018. It is not considered a competitive district in 2020.
Current counties and municipalities
Butler County (57)
- All 57 municipalities
Crawford County (51)
- All 51 municipalities
Erie County (38)
- All 38 municipalities
Lawrence County (27)
- All 27 municipalities
Mercer County (47)
- All 47 municipalities
Venango County (13)
- Barkeyville, Canal Township, Cooperstown, Franklin, Frenchcreek Township, Irwin Township, Jackson Township, Mineral Township, Polk, Sandycreek Township, Sugarcreek, Utica, Victory Township (part; also 15th)
List of members representing the district
The district was created with two seats in 1823
1823–1833: two seats
Cong ress |
Years | Seat A | Seat B | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Representative | Party | Electoral history | Representative | Party | Electoral history | ||||
18th | March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825 |
James Allison Jr. (Beaver) |
Democratic-Republican | Elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Resigned before Congress convened |
Walter Forward (Pittsburgh) |
Democratic-Republican | Redistricted from the 14th district and re-elected in 1822. Lost re-election. | ||
19th | March 4, 1825 – ? 1825 |
Jacksonian | James S. Stevenson (Pittsburgh) |
Jacksonian | Elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1826. Lost re-election. | ||||
? 1825 – October 11, 1825 |
Vacant | ||||||||
October 11, 1825 – March 3, 1827 |
Robert Orr Jr. (Kittaning) |
Jacksonian | Elected October 11, 1825, to finish Allison's term and seated December 5, 1825. Re-elected in 1826. Retired. | ||||||
20th | March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829 | ||||||||
21st | March 4, 1829 – November 9, 1829 |
John Gilmore (Butler) |
Jacksonian | Elected in 1828. Re-elected in 1830. [data missing] |
William Wilkins (Pittsburgh) |
Anti-Masonic | Elected in 1828 but resigned November 9, 1829, before qualifying. | ||
November 9, 1829 – December 15, 1829 |
Vacant | ||||||||
December 15, 1829 – March 3, 1831 |
Harmar Denny (Pittsburgh) |
Anti-Masonic | Elected November 9, 1829, to finish Wilkins's term and seated December 15, 1829. Re-elected in 1830. Redistricted to the 22nd district. | ||||||
22nd | March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833 |
1833-present: one seat
Election results
Source: [1]
Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | Third Party | Votes | Pct | Fourth Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | Bob Yorczyk | 80,177 | 33.1% | Joe Pitts | 162,403 | 67.0% | ||||||||||
2002 | Joe Pitts | 119,046 | 88.5% | Will Todd | 8,720 | 6.5% | Kenneth Brenneman | 6,766 | 5.0% | |||||||
2004 | Lois Herr | 98,410 | 34.5% | Joe Pitts | 183,620 | 64.4% | William Hagen | 3,269 | 1.25 | |||||||
2006 | Lois Herr | 80,915 | 39.6% | Joe Pitts | 115,741 | 56.6% | John Murphy |
7,958 | 3.9% | |||||||
2008 | Bruce Slater | 120,193 | 39.4% | Joe Pitts | 170,329 | 55.8% | John Murphy |
11,768 | 3.9% | Daniel Frank | 2,877 | 0.9% | ||||
2010 | Lois Herr | 70,994 | 34.6% | Joe Pitts | 134,113 | 65.4% | ||||||||||
2012 | Aryanna Strader | 109,026 | 39% | Joe Pitts | 154,337 | 55% | John Murphy |
10,080 | 4% | Jim Bednarski | 4995 | 2% | ||||
2014 | Tom Houghton | 73,921 | 42.2% | Joe Pitts | 101,083 | 57.8% | ||||||||||
2016 | Christina Hartman | 134,586 | 42.89% | Lloyd Smucker | 168,669 | 53.76% | Shawn Patrick House | 10,518 | 3.35% | |||||||
2018 | Ronald DiNicola | 124,109 | 47.3% | Mike Kelly | 135,348 | 51.6% | Ebert "Bill" Beeman | 2,939 | 1.1% | |||||||
2020 | Kristy Gnibus | 143,962 | 40.7% | Mike Kelly | 210,088 | 59.3% | ||||||||||
2022 | Dan Pastore | 130,443 | 40.6% | Mike Kelly | 190,546 | 59.4% |
Historical district boundaries
-
2003–2013
-
2013–2019
-
2019–2023
See also
References
- ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ Cohn, Nate; Bloch, Matthew; Quealy, Kevin (February 19, 2018). "The New Pennsylvania House Districts Are In. We Review the Mapmakers' Choices". The Upshot. The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::b0a94d77-5d99-41c5-bc01-5859a6e1f3e6
- ^ 2022 PA Statewides by CD. docs.google.com (Report).
- ^ "Fast Facts for Congress". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2006.
- ^ "2022 House Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present