2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the 18 U.S. Representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts.
The elections coincided with the 2018 gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map, ruling it had been unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans. New maps were subsequently adopted in February 2018.
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 12–6 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.
Redistricting
In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map, ruling it had been unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans. New maps were subsequently adopted in February 2018, for use in 2018's elections and taking effect with representation in 2019.Results summary
Statewide
District
Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania:District 1
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. Under the new congressional map that was in place in 2019, the first district overlaps with much of the former 8th district, which is represented by Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick took office in 2017, succeeding his brother, former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick. The new 1st district consists of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County.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.
Democratic primary
Primary results
Republican primary
Primary results
General election
Debates
- , October 19, 2018
Polling
Endorsements
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District 2
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.The new map drew the home of fellow Democrat Brendan Boyle, who has 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.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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District 3
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. The incumbent from the 2nd district is Democrat Dwight Evans, who has 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.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
Primary results
General election
Results
District 4
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. Boyle opted to run in the 2nd, making the 4th an open seat.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.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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Endorsements
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District 5
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 Congressman 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, and subsequently resigned from office in April.Democratic primary
Polling
Primary results
Republican primary
Primary results
General election
Results
District 6
The 6th district consists of Chester County and Reading. The incumbent is Republican Ryan Costello, who has 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. Costello formally withdrew his name on March 27.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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District 7
The 7th district was formerly centered on Delaware County, but the new district consists of much of the Lehigh Valley. The new 7th district overlaps with much of the former 15th district, which was represented by retired Republican Congressman Charlie Dent who resigned early.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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Results
District 8
The 8th district was previously centered on Bucks County, but now consists of portions of Northeast Pennsylvania, including the city of Scranton. The new district overlaps with much of the former 17th district, which is represented by Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright. Cartwright has held office since 2013.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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District 9
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 Congressman Lou Barletta.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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District 10
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. The incumbent from the 4th district is Republican Scott Perry, who has 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.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
Primary results
General election
Debates
- , October 18, 2018
Endorsements
Polling
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District 11
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 has held office since 2017.Meteorologist Drew Anderson planned to run without party affiliation and expected to be listed that way on the November ballot. However, he failed to file papers in time, and was not in the race.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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District 12
The old 12th district was in Southwestern Pennsylvania, but the new district is in North Central Pennsylvania. It overlaps with the former 10th district, which was represented by Republican Tom Marino. Marino had held office since 2011.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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District 13
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 Congressman Bill Shuster.Democratic primary
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District 14
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. The winner of the 2018 special election, Democrat Conor Lamb, ran in the more competitive 17th district.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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District 15
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 is represented by Republican G.T. Thompson. Thompson has held office since 2009.Democratic primary
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Republican primary
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General election
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District 16
The former 16th district was in Southeastern Pennsylvania, but the redrawn 16th district is in Northwestern Pennsylvania, overlapping with the former 3rd district. The incumbent from the 3rd district was Republican Mike Kelly, who has 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.Democratic primary
Primary results
Republican primary
Primary results
General election
Debates
- , October 8, 2018
Polling
Results
District 17
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 is represented by Republican Keith Rothfus. Rothfus has held office since 2013, and ran for reelection in the new 17th.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. 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. On March 20, Lamb formally filed to run for a full term in the 17th.
Democratic primary
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Republican primary
Primary results
General election
Debates
- , October 16, 2018
Endorsements