Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District

Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District

Incumbent

Brendan Boyle

Assumed office: January 3, 2019

Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Brendan Boyle (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Pennsylvania representatives represented an average of 765,403 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 707,495 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024

Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (April 23 Democratic primary)

Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (April 23 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle defeated Aaron Bashir in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle (D)	71.4	193,691
		Aaron Bashir (R)	28.5	77,355
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	408

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 271,454
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle	98.3	43,997
		Other/Write-in votes	1.7	742

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 44,739
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Salem Snow (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Aaron Bashir advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aaron Bashir	99.2	9,748
		Other/Write-in votes	0.8	79

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 9,827
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle defeated Aaron Bashir in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle (D)	75.7	141,229
		Aaron Bashir (R)	24.3	45,454

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 186,683
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle	100.0	53,825

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 53,825
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Gilberto Gonzalez (D)
• Salem Snow (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Aaron Bashir advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aaron Bashir	100.0	11,796

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,796
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Albert Robles (R)

2020

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle defeated David Torres in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle (D)	72.5	198,140
		David Torres (R)	27.5	75,022

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 273,162
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle	100.0	73,980

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 73,980
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Joanne Mantilla (D)
• Salem Snow (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

David Torres advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Torres	100.0	14,010

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,010
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2018

Results of 2018 redistricting

On February 19, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted a new congressional district map after ruling that the original map constituted an illegal partisan gerrymander. District locations and numbers were changed by the new map. Candidates were listed under Pennsylvania’s new districts, which were used in the 2018 congressional elections. Click here for more information about the ruling.

The chart below compares this new district with the old district that was the most geographically similar to it.

Old district	Prior incumbent	Prior 2016 presidential result	New 2016 presidential result
13th District	Brendan Boyle (D)	D+33.6	D+48.0

Not sure which district you're in? Find out here.

Click the box below to see how the new congressional districts compare to the ones in place before the redrawing.

Changes in Pennsylvania's congressional districts
New district	Prior district	Prior 2016 presidential result	New 2016 presidential result	Prior incumbent
1st District	8th District	R+0.2	D+2.0	Brian Fitzpatrick (R)
2nd District	13th District	D+33.6	D+48.0	Brendan Boyle (D)
3rd District	2nd District	D+82.8	D+83.9	Dwight Evans (D)
4th District	13th District	D+33.6	D+19.4	None
5th District	7th District	D+2.3	D+28.2	Pat Meehan (R)
6th District	6th District	D+0.6	D+9.3	Ryan Costello (R)
7th District	15th District	R+7.6	D+1.1	Charlie Dent (R)
8th District	17th District	R+10.1	R+9.5	Matt Cartwright (D)
9th District	17th District	R+10.1	R+34.0	None
10th District	4th District	R+21.5	R+8.9	Scott Perry (R)
11th District	16th District	R+6.8	R+25.8	Lloyd Smucker (R)
12th District	10th District	R+36.0	R+36.5	Tom Marino (R)
13th District	9th District	R+42.5	R+45.5	Bill Shuster (R)
14th District	18th District	R+19.6	R+29.0	Conor Lamb (D)
15th District	5th District	R+28.8	R+43.4	Glenn Thompson (R)
16th District	3rd District	R+26.1	R+19.9	Mike Kelly (R)
17th District	12th District	R+20.8	R+2.5	Keith Rothfus (R)
18th District	14th District	D+35.5	D+26.8	Mike Doyle (D)
Source: Daily Kos

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle defeated David Torres in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle (D)	79.0	159,600
		David Torres (R)	21.0	42,382

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 201,982
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

Incumbent Brendan Boyle defeated Michele Lawrence in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brendan Boyle	64.6	23,641
		Michele Lawrence	35.4	12,974

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 36,615
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2

David Torres advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 2 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Torres	100.0	7,523

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 7,523
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

Regular election

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Dwight Evans (D) defeated James Jones (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Evans defeated incumbent Chaka Fattah, Dan Muroff, and Brian Gordon to win the Democratic nomination in the primary. In 2015, Fattah was indicted on charges of bribery, money laundering, and bank and mail fraud, among other charges, making him vulnerable in the primary. Fattah was the first congressional incumbent to lose a primary election in 2016.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dwight Evans	90.2%	322,514
	Republican	James Jones	9.8%	35,131
Total Votes				357,645
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 Democratic Primary, 2016

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Dwight Evans	42.3%	75,515
Chaka Fattah Incumbent	34.4%	61,518
Brian Gordon	13.2%	23,655
Dan Muroff	10.1%	18,016
Total Votes		178,704
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

Special election

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District special election, 2016

Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District held a special election on November 8, 2016, to replace Chaka Fattah, who resigned following a racketeering conviction. A primary was not held in the election. Dwight Evans (D) and James Jones (R), the winners of the district's regular primary in April, were the nominees in the general election. Evans was the winner of the election and served out the final two months of Fattah's term.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 Special Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dwight Evans	90.3%	271,098
	Republican	James Jones	9.7%	29,173
Total Votes				300,271
Source: The New York Times Vote totals above are unofficial and will be updated once official totals are made available.

2014

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2014

The 2nd Congressional District of Pennsylvania held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent, Chaka Fattah (D) defeated Armond James (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah Incumbent	87.7%	181,141
	Republican	Armond James	12.3%	25,397
Total Votes				206,538
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

2012

See also: Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012

The 2nd Congressional District of Pennsylvania held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Chaka Fattah won re-election in the district.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah Incumbent	89.3%	318,176
	Republican	Robert Mansfield	9.4%	33,381
	Independent	James Foster	1.4%	4,829
Total Votes				356,386
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Rick Hellberg (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	89.3%	182,800
	Republican	Rick Hellberg	10.7%	21,907
Total Votes				204,707

2008

On November 4, 2008, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Adam A. Lang (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	88.9%	276,870
	Republican	Adam A. Lang	11.1%	34,466
Total Votes				311,336

2006

On November 7, 2006, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Michael Gessner (R) and David G. Baker (Green) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	88.6%	165,867
	Republican	Michael Gessner	9.2%	17,291
	Green	David G. Baker	2.2%	4,125
Total Votes				187,283

2004

On November 2, 2004, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Stewart Bolno (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	88%	253,226
	Republican	Stewart Bolno	12%	34,411
Total Votes				287,637

2002

On November 5, 2002, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Thomas G. Dougherty (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	87.8%	150,623
	Republican	Thomas G. Dougherty	12.2%	20,988
Total Votes				171,611

2000

On November 7, 2000, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Kenneth Crawchuk (L) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	98%	180,021
	Libertarian	Kenneth Crawchuk	2%	3,673
Total Votes				183,694

1998

On November 3, 1998, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Anne Marie Mulligan (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 1998
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	86.5%	102,763
	Republican	Anne Marie Mulligan	13.5%	16,001
Total Votes				118,764

1996

On November 5, 1996, Chaka Fattah won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Larry G. Murphy (R) and Write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 1996
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah incumbent	88%	168,887
	Republican	Larry G. Murphy	12%	23,047
Total Votes				191,937

1994

On November 8, 1994, Chaka Fattah won election to the United States House. He defeated Lawrence R. Watson (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 2 General Election, 1994
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Chaka Fattah	85.9%	120,553
	Republican	Lawrence R. Watson	14.1%	19,824
Total Votes				140,377

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Pennsylvania after the 2020 census

On February 23, 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled to enact a new congressional map. Over a dozen maps were submitted to the supreme court, including the map approved by the legislature. The court ultimately selected the Carter map in a 4-3 ruling, which was submitted by a group of Pennsylvania citizens who were petitioners in a redistricting-related lawsuit. Justices Debra Todd (D), Sallie Mundy (R), and Kevin Brobson (R) dissented. Spotlight PA's Kate Huangpu wrote that the map is "as similar as possible to the current congressional map, with nearly 90% of residents staying in the same district." This map took effect for Pennsylvania's 2022 congressional elections.

The state supreme court took authority over the redistricting process after Gov. Tom Wolf (D) vetoed the legislature's enacted map on January 26. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to approve the initial map 110-91 on January 12, and the Pennsylvania State Senate voted 29-20 to approve the map on January 24. Following Wolf's veto, the authority for determining a new map initially rested with a lower court, but in a February 2 ruling the supreme court ruled that it would have control over the process to select a new congressional map.

How does redistricting in Pennsylvania work? In Pennsylvania, the statutory authority to draw congressional district boundaries is vested with the Pennsylvania General Assembly. These lines are subject to gubernatorial veto.

State legislative district lines are drawn by a politician commission. Established in 1968, the commission comprises five members:

1. The majority leader of the Pennsylvania State Senate appoints one member.
2. The minority leader of the Pennsylvania State Senate appoints one member.
3. The majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives appoints one member.
4. The minority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives appoints one member.
5. The first four commissioners appoint a fifth member to serve as the commission's chair. If the commission is unable to reach an agreement, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court must appoint a commission chair.

The Pennsylvania Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and compact. Further, state legislative districts should "respect county, city, incorporated town, borough, township and ward boundaries." There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.

Pennsylvania District 2
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Pennsylvania District 2
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2018

On January 22, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional district map, finding that the map constituted an illegal partisan gerrymander. On February 19, 2018, the court adopted a remedial map for use in the 2018 election cycle. Pennsylvania Republicans filed suit in federal district court to prevent implementation of the new map. The district court dismissed the suit on March 19, 2018. State Republicans also petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to stay the state supreme court's order pending appeal. The court rejected this request on March 19, 2018. To learn more, see here.

2010-2011

This is the 2nd Congressional District prior to the 2010 redistricting.

See also: Redistricting in Pennsylvania after the 2010 census

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission in Pennsylvania approved the GOP-proposed map. It was signed into law on December 22, 2001.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is D+19. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 19 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 2nd the 65th most Democratic district nationally.

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+20. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 20 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 2nd the 64th most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 71.0%-28.3%.

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+20. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 20 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 2nd the 62nd most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 71.0% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 28.3%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+25. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 25 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District the 44th most Democratic nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 0.88. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 0.88 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024
• Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022
• Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2020
• Pennsylvania's 2nd Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 2

Footnotes

[show]

Pennsylvania's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Fetterman (D)

David McCormick (R)

Representatives

District 1

Brian Fitzpatrick (R)

District 2

Brendan Boyle (D)

District 3

Dwight Evans (D)

District 4

Madeleine Dean (D)

District 5

Mary Scanlon (D)

District 6

Chrissy Houlahan (D)

District 7

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

District 8

Rob Bresnahan (R)

District 9

Dan Meuser (R)

District 10

Scott Perry (R)

District 11

Lloyd Smucker (R)

District 12

Summer Lee (D)

District 13

John Joyce (R)

District 14

Guy Reschenthaler (R)

District 15

Glenn Thompson (R)

District 16

Mike Kelly (R)

District 17

Chris Deluzio (D)

Republican Party (11)

Democratic Party (8)