Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district: Difference between revisions

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district
	Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Susan Wild; D–Allentown
Population (2023)	778,593
Median household; income	$79,206
Ethnicity	68.6% White; 19.1% Hispanic; 5.5% Black; 3.1% Asian; 3.1% Two or more races; 0.6% other;
Cook PVI	R+2

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Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district includes all of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, and parts of Monroe County. The district is represented by Democrat Susan Wild. She was defeated by Republican Ryan Mackenzie and he will take office with the new congress in January 2025.

From March 2003 through 2018, the district incorporated parts of the Philadelphia suburbs, including most of Delaware County, along with portions of Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster Counties. The district exhibited extreme non-congruity during that time as a result of gerrymandering.^[2] On January 22, 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the map violated the state constitution, and in February, it issued its own district boundaries for use in the 2018 elections and representation thereafter.^[3] Most of the population in the old 7th district became part of a new 5th district, encompassing all of Delaware County and parts of South Philadelphia; while most of the old 15th district became the new 7th district.^[4]^[5] In the 2020 redistricting cycle, Carbon County was added into the district, in exchange for the area around East Stroudsburg in Monroe County.

Pat Meehan, who had represented the old 7th district since 2011, resigned on April 27, 2018, amid a sexual harassment case. Mary Gay Scanlon won the special election on November 6, 2018, to replace him for the remainder of his term, and she served for slightly less than two months as the last representative for the old 7th district before being transferred to the newly redrawn 5th district. Susan Wild won the general election in the newly redrawn 7th district, and she took office January 3, 2019.

The district was identified as a presidential bellwether by Sabato's Crystal Ball, having voted for the Electoral College winner in the past four presidential elections as of 2020.^[6]

Recent statewide election results

The following table includes election results for previous incarnations of the 7th congressional district; see #Historical district boundaries.

Year	Presidential	Representative	Notes
2002	–	Weldon 66.1–33.9%	New district boundaries
2004	Kerry 53–47%	Weldon 58.8–40.3%
2006	–	Sestak 56.4–43.6%
2008	Obama 56–43%	Sestak 59.6–40.4%
2010	–	Meehan 54.9–44.1%
2012	Romney 50.4–48.5%	Meehan 59.4–40.6%
2014	–	Meehan 62.0–38.0%	New district boundaries
2016	Clinton 49.3–47.0%	Meehan 59.5–40.5%
2018	–	Scanlon 52.3–46.0%	Special following Meehan's resignation
2018	–	Wild 53.5–43.5%	New district boundaries
2020	Biden 51.8–47.0%	Wild 51.9–48.1%
2022	–	Wild 51.0–49.0%	New district boundaries
2024	Trump 51.1–47.9%	Mackenzie 50.5–49.5%

^{[citation needed]}

Geography

The 2003–2012 version of the district was located in southeastern Pennsylvania. It contained the western and northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia. It consisted of the majority of Delaware County (except for the City of Chester and some of the eastern boroughs), a portion of Chester County east of West Chester in the affluent Philadelphia Main Line area, and a portion of southern Montgomery County centered on Upper Merion Township.

The 2013–2018 version of the district contained most of Delaware County outside of the City of Chester and the heavily African American townships and boroughs in the eastern portion of the county. It also contained parts of central Montgomery County, southern portions of Berks County, southern and central portions of Chester County, and a small portion of eastern Lancaster County. The District as it stood in October 2016 was named on NPR's On the Media as an egregious example of gerrymandering. The shape of the district was described as "Goofy kicking Donald Duck. The only point that is essentially contiguous there is Goofy's foot in Donald Duck's rear end. ... However these district lines are the building blocks of democracy, and when they get as perverted and twisted as this, it leads to deeply undemocratic outcomes."^[7] The Washington Post listed it as one of the ten most gerrymandered districts in the country.^[8]

On February 19, 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania released a new congressional map after lawmakers had failed to agree on a map that would reduce gerrymandering. The map substantially redrew the District, relocating it to the Lehigh Valley.^[5] The newly redrawn district includes all of Lehigh County and Northampton County as well as parts of Monroe County.

List of members representing the district

1791–1793: one seat

District created in 1791.

Representative	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
District first established March 4, 1791
Thomas Hartley (York)	Pro-Administration	March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793	2nd	Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1791. Redistricted to the at-large district.

District redistricted in 1793 to the at-large district.

1795–1823: one seat

District restored in 1795.

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
John W. Kittera (Lancaster)	Federalist	March 4, 1795 – March 3, 1801	4th 5th 6th	Redistricted from the at-large district and re-elected in 1794. Re-elected in 1796. Re-elected in 1798. Retired.
Thomas Boude (Columbia)	Federalist	March 4, 1801 – March 3, 1803	7th	Elected in 1800. Redistricted to the 3rd district and lost re-election.
John Rea (Chambersburg)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1803 – March 3, 1811	8th 9th 10th 11th	Elected in 1802. Re-elected in 1804. Re-elected in 1806. Re-elected in 1808. Lost re-election.
William Piper (Bloodyrun)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1811 – March 3, 1813	12th	Elected in 1810. Redistricted to the 8th district.
John M. Hyneman (Reading)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1813 – August 2, 1813	13th	Redistricted from the 3rd district and re-elected in 1812. Resigned.
Vacant		August 2, 1813 – October 12, 1813
Daniel Udree (Reading)	Democratic-Republican	October 12, 1813 – March 3, 1815		Elected October 12, 1813, to finish Hyneman's term and seated December 6, 1813. Lost re-election.
Joseph Hiester (Reading)	Democratic-Republican	March 4, 1815 – December ????, 1820	14th 15th 16th	Elected in 1814. Re-elected in 1816. Resigned to become Governor of Pennsylvania.
Vacant		December ????, 1820 – December 26, 1820	16th
Daniel Udree (Reading)	Democratic-Republican	December 26, 1820 – March 3, 1821	16th	Elected December 10, 1820, to finish Hiester's term and seated January 8, 1821.^[9] Had not been a candidate for the next term.
Ludwig Worman (Pottstown)	Federalist	March 4, 1821 – October 17, 1822	17th	Elected in 1820. Lost re-election and then died.
Vacant		October 17, 1822 – December 10, 1822
Daniel Udree (Reading)	Democratic-Republican	December 10, 1822 – March 3, 1823		Elected in 1822. Later elected December 10, 1822, to finish Worman's term and seated December 23, 1822.

1823–1833: two seats

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history	Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
Henry Wilson (Allentown)	Democratic-Republican^[a]	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th	Elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Died.	Daniel Udree (Reading)	Democratic-Republican^[a]	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th	Re-elected in 1822. Retired.
Henry Wilson (Allentown)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – August 24, 1826	19th	Elected in 1822. Re-elected in 1824. Died.	William Addams (Reading)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1829	19th 20th	Elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1826. Lost re-election.
Vacant		August 24, 1826 – December 4, 1826
Jacob Krebs (Orwigsburg)	Jacksonian	December 4, 1826 – March 3, 1827		Elected October 10, 1826, to finish Wilson's term and seated December 4, 1826. Was not a candidate for the next term.
Joseph Fry Jr. (Fryburg)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1831	20th 21st	Elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1828. Retired.
Joseph Fry Jr. (Fryburg)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1831	20th 21st	Elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1828. Retired.	Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (Reading)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833	21st 22nd	Elected in 1828. Re-elected in 1830. Redistricted to the 9th district.
Henry King (Allentown)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833	22nd	Elected in 1830. Redistricted to the 8th district.	Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (Reading)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833	21st 22nd

1833–present: one seat

Member	Party	Years	Cong ress	Electoral history
David D. Wagener (Easton)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	23rd 24th	Elected in 1832 Re-elected in 1834 Re-elected in 1836 Re-elected in 1838 [data missing]
David D. Wagener (Easton)	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841	25th 26th
John Westbrook (Dingmans Ferry)	Democratic	March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843	27th	Elected in 1840. Retired.
Abraham R. McIlvaine (Brandywine)	Whig	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849	28th 29th 30th	Elected in 1843. Re-elected in 1844. Re-elected in 1846. Lost renomination.
Jesse C. Dickey (New London)	Whig	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	31st	Elected in 1848. Lost re-election.
John A. Morrison (Cochranville)	Democratic	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	32nd	Elected in 1850. [data missing]
Samuel A. Bridges (Allentown)	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd	Elected in 1852. Lost re-election.
Samuel C. Bradshaw (Quakertown)	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	34th	Elected in 1854. Lost re-election.
Henry Chapman (Doylestown)	Democratic	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859	35th	Elected in 1856. Retired.
Henry C. Longnecker (Allentown)	Republican	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	36th	Elected in 1858. [data missing]
Thomas B. Cooper (Coopersburg)	Democratic	March 4, 1861 – April 4, 1862	37th	Elected in 1860. Died.
Vacant		April 4, 1862 – June 3, 1862
John D. Stiles (Allentown)	Democratic	June 3, 1862 – March 3, 1863		Elected to finish Cooper's term. Redistricted to the 6th district.
John M. Broomall (Media)	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869	38th 39th 40th	Elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Retired.
Washington Townsend (West Chester)	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1875	41st 42nd 43rd	Elected in 1868. Re-elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Redistricted to the 6th district.
Alan Wood Jr. (Conshohocken)	Republican	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1877	44th	Elected in 1874. Retired.
Isaac N. Evans (Hatboro)	Republican	March 4, 1877 – March 3, 1879	45th	Elected in 1876. Retired.
William Godshalk (New Britain)	Republican	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883	46th 47th	Elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Retired.
Isaac N. Evans (Hatboro)	Republican	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1887	48th 49th	Elected in 1882. Re-elected in 1884. Retired.
Robert M. Yardley (Doylestown)	Republican	March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891	50th 51st	Elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Retired.
Edwin Hallowell (Willow Grove)	Democratic	March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893	52nd	Elected in 1890. Lost re-election.
Irving P. Wanger (Norristown)	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1903	53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th	Elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898. Re-elected in 1900. Redistricted to the 8th district.
Thomas S. Butler (West Chester)	Republican	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1923	58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th	Redistricted from the 6th district and re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Re-elected in 1908. Re-elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Re-elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Redistricted to the 8th district.
George P. Darrow (Philadelphia)	Republican	March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1937	68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th	Redistricted from the 6th district and re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Re-elected in 1930. Re-elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Lost re-election.
Ira W. Drew (Philadelphia)	Democratic	January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1939	75th	Elected in 1936. Lost re-election.
George P. Darrow (Philadelphia)	Republican	January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1941	76th	Elected in 1938. Retired.
Hugh Scott (Philadelphia)	Republican	January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1945	77th 78th	Elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Lost re-election.
James Wolfenden (Upper Darby)	Republican	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947	79th	Redistricted from the 8th district and re-elected in 1944. Retired.
E. Wallace Chadwick (Rose Valley)	Republican	January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949	80th	Elected in 1946. Lost renomination.
Benjamin F. James (Rosemont)	Republican	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1959	81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th	Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Re-elected in 1956. Retired.
William H. Milliken Jr. (Sharon Hill)	Republican	January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1965	86th 87th 88th	Elected in 1958. Re-elected in 1960. Re-elected in 1962. Retired.
G. Robert Watkins (West Chester)	Republican	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967	89th	Elected in 1964. Redistricted to the 9th district.
Lawrence G. Williams (Springfield)	Republican	January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1975	90th 91st 92nd 93rd	Elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Re-elected in 1972. Lost re-election.
Robert W. Edgar (Middletown)	Democratic	January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1987	94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th	Elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Re-elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Curt Weldon (Thornbury)	Republican	January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2007	100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th	Elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Re-elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Re-elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Lost re-election.
Joe Sestak (Springfield)	Democratic	January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011	110th 111th	Elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Pat Meehan (Drexel Hill)	Republican	January 3, 2011 – April 27, 2018	112th 113th 114th 115th	Elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Re-elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Resigned.
Vacant		April 27, 2018 – November 13, 2018	115th
Mary Gay Scanlon (Swarthmore)	Democratic	November 13, 2018 – January 3, 2019	115th	Elected to finish Meehan's term. Redistricted to the 5th district.
Susan Wild (Allentown)	Democratic	January 3, 2019 – present	116th 117th 118th	Redistricted from the 15th district and elected to full term in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Lost re-election.
Ryan Mackenzie (elect) (Lower Macungie Township)	Republican	January 3, 2025		Elected in 2024.

Historical district boundaries

2003–2013
2013–2019
2019–2023

Notes

^ ^a ^b Supported the Jackson faction in the 1824 United States presidential election.

References

^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
^ Ingraham, Christopher. "This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see". Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
^ League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, No. 159 MM 2018, [1] (PA February 19, 2018)
^ "Pennsylvania Supreme Court strikes down state's congressional districts". CBS News. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. CBS News. January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
^ ^a ^b 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.
^ "Districts of Change, Part Two: Looking Beyond the Straight-Party Districts".
^ "The System Is Rigged". On the Media. October 21, 2016.
^ Ingraham, Christopher (May 15, 2014). "America's most gerrymandered congressional districts". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
^ "Sixteenth Congress March 4, 1819, to March 3, 1821". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 23, 2019 – via History.house.gov.

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.

External links

39°54′N 75°55′W / 39.900°N 75.917°W / 39.900; -75.917

[Jackson-10] Supported the Jackson faction in the 1824 United States presidential election.

[Cook-1] "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

[WashPost-2] Ingraham, Christopher. "This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see". Washington Post. Retrieved January 21, 2023.

[3] League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, No. 159 MM 2018, [1] (PA February 19, 2018)

[4] "Pennsylvania Supreme Court strikes down state's congressional districts". CBS News. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. CBS News. January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.

[cbq-5] 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.

[6] "Districts of Change, Part Two: Looking Beyond the Straight-Party Districts".

[7] "The System Is Rigged". On the Media. October 21, 2016.

[8] Ingraham, Christopher (May 15, 2014). "America's most gerrymandered congressional districts". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 17, 2021.

[16thRoster-9] "Sixteenth Congress March 4, 1819, to March 3, 1821". Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. Retrieved January 23, 2019 – via History.house.gov.

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