Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district

Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district is one of Pennsylvania's voting districts for the United States House of Representatives, incorporating parts of the Philadelphia suburbs, including most of Delaware County. It is currently represented by Democrat Joe Sestak, who defeated longtime Republican incumbent Curt Weldon in the 2006 midterm elections in this once safely Republican district.

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 area 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 receives 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 in 1795 from Pennsylvania's At-large congressional district
John W. Kittera	Federalist	1795 - 1801
Thomas Boude	Federalist	1801 - 1803
John Rea	Democratic-Republican	1803 - 1811
William Piper	Democratic-Republican	1811 - 1813
John M. Hyneman	Democratic-Republican	1813		Resigned from office on August 2, 1813
Daniel Udree	Democratic-Republican	1813 – 1815		Unsuccessful candidate for reelection
Joseph Hiester	Democratic-Republican	1815 – 1820		Resigned to become Governor of Pennsylvania
Daniel Udree	Democratic-Republican	1820 – 1821
Ludwig Worman	Federalist	1821 – 1822	Earl Township	Died in office
Daniel Udree	Democratic-Republican	1822 – 1823
District reorganized in 1831 to have two seats
Henry Wilson Daniel Udree	Democratic-Republican	1823 – 1825
Henry Wilson Jacob Krebs	Jacksonian	1825 – 1826		Henry Wilson died in office
William Addams Jacob Krebs	Jacksonian	1826 – 1827
William Addams Joseph Fry, Jr.	Jacksonian	1827 – 1829
Henry A. P. Muhlenberg Joseph Fry, Jr.	Jacksonian	1829 – 1831
District reorganized in 1831 to have one seat
Henry A. P. Muhlenberg	Jacksonian	1831 – 1833
David D. Wagener	Jacksonian	1833 – 1837	Easton
	Democrat	1837 – 1841
John Westbrook	Democrat	1841 – 1843	Dingmans Ferry	Declined to be a candidate for reelection
Abraham R. McIlvaine	Whig	1843 – 1849	Downingtown	Unsuccessful candidate for renomination
Jesse C. Dickey	Whig	1849 – 1851	New London	Unsuccessful candidate for reelection
John A. Morrison	Democrat	1851 – 1853	Cochranville
Samuel A. Bridges	Democrat	1853 – 1855	Allentown	Unsuccessful candidate for reelection
Samuel C. Bradshaw	Opposition	1855 – 1857	Quakertown	Unsuccessful candidate for reelection
Henry Chapman	Democrat	1857 – 1859	Doylestown	Declined to be a candidate for renomination
Henry C. Longnecker	Republican	1859 – 1861	Allentown
Thomas B. Cooper	Democrat	1861 – 1862	Coopersburg	Died in office
John D. Stiles	Democrat	1862 – 1863	Allentown	Moved to Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district
John M. Broomall	Republican	1863 – 1869	Media	Not a candidate for renomination
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; was sworn in on January 4, 2007

External links

• District Map