Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district is one of Pennsylvania's voting districts for the United States House of Representatives.

Geography

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district, is located in Southeast Pennsylvania. It contains the western and northwestern suburbs of Philadelphia. It is comprised 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, and a portion of southern Montgomery County in the affluent Main Line area.

Demographics

The PA 7th Congressional District encompasses an ares of diverse wealth, ranging from blue collar and working class households in the southeastern portions of Delaware County (mostly around in the oil refinery areas of Marcus Hook and Trainer) to the southern and western portions of the affluent Main Line area of Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. The PA 7th Congressional District is the home of several major colleges and universities, including Widener University and Cheyney University, the first traditionally black college in the U.S. The district is also the home of Boeing's helicopter facility in Ridley Park. Chester, the largest municipality in Delaware County, is not represented by the PA 7th Congressional District (it is under the Pennsylvania 1st Congressional District, which also includes South Philadelphia), but recieves attention from the PA 7th due to Chester's influence to the rest of the county.

Representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
District created
Washington Townsend	Republican	1869 – 1875	West Chester	Declined to be a candidate for renomination
Alan Wood, Jr.	Republican	1875 – 1877	Philadelphia	Declined to be a candidate for renomination
Isaac N. Evans	Republican	1877 – 1879	Doylestown	Declined to be a candidate for renomination
William Godshalk	Republican	1879 – 1883	Hatboro	Declined to be a candidate for renomination
Isaac N. Evans	Republican	1883 – 1887	Hatboro	Declined to be a candidate for renomination
Robert M. Yardley	Republican	1887 – 1891	Doylestown	Declined to be a candidate for renomination
Edwin Hallowell	Democrat	1891 – 1893		Unsuccessful candidate for reelection
Irving P. Wanger	Republican	1893 – 1903		Moved to Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district
Thomas S. Butler	Republican	1903 – 1923	Uwchlan Township	Moved to Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district
George P. Darrow	Republican	1923 – 1937	Philadelphia	Unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1936
Ira W. Drew	Democrat	1937 – 1939	Philadelphia	Unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1938
George P. Darrow	Republican	1939 – 1941	Philadelphia	Not a candidate for renomination in 1940
Hugh Scott	Republican	1941 – 1945	Philadelphia	Unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1944
James Wolfenden	Republican	1945 – 1947	Upper Darby Township	Did not run in 1946
E. Wallace Chadwick	Republican	1947 – 1949	Radnor Township	Unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1948
Benjamin F. James	Republican	1949 – 1959	Radnor Township	Not a candidate for renomination in 1958
William H. Milliken, Jr.	Republican	1959 – 1965	Sharon Hill	Not a candidate for renomination in 1964
G. Robert Watkins	Republican	1965 – 1967	West Chester	Moved to Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district
Lawrence G. Williams	Republican	1967 – 1975	Springfield	Unsuccessful candidate for reelection
Robert W. Edgar	Democrat	1975 – 1987	Philadelphia	Did not seek reelection to the House in 1986
Curt Weldon	Republican	1987 – 2007	Thornbury Township	Defeated for Reelection on November 7, 2006
Joe Sestak	Democrat	2007 – Incumbent	Springfield	Elected on November 7, 2006; will be sworn in on January 3, 2007

Election results

• Pennsylvania 7th congressional district election, 2006

External link

• District Map