Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 8

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Cartwright (D)	54.6	135,603
		John Chrin (R)	45.4	112,563

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 248,166
= 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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Elections in Pennsylvania, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: N/A
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 2

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: No
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Congressional special elections • Governor • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Local ballot measures • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

2020 → ← 2016
Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: March 20, 2018
Primary: May 15, 2018 General: November 6, 2018
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Pennsylvania
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2018): R+1 Cook Political Report: Likely Democratic Inside Elections: Lean Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th • 18th • 7th (special) • 15th (special) • 18th (special) Pennsylvania elections, 2018 U.S. Congress elections, 2018 U.S. Senate elections, 2018 U.S. House elections, 2018 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 8th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, held elections in 2018.

Heading into the election the incumbent was Matt Cartwright (D), who was first elected in 2012.

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 on this page 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
17th District	Matt Cartwright (D)	R+10.1	R+9.5

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

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 8

Incumbent Matt Cartwright defeated John Chrin in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Cartwright (D)	54.6	135,603
		John Chrin (R)	45.4	112,563

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 248,166
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 8

Incumbent Matt Cartwright advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 8 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Matt Cartwright	100.0	36,189

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 36,189
= 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 8

John Chrin defeated Joe Peters and Robert Kuniegel in the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 8 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Chrin	48.5	15,221
		Joe Peters	34.9	10,951
		Robert Kuniegel	16.7	5,233

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 31,405
= 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.

District analysis

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

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage point more Republican than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District the 230th most Republican 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 1.05. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.05 points toward that party.

Race background

Pennsylvania's 8th District was listed as one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's initial targets in 2018.

Incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick was included as one of the initial members of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program in 2018.

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.

John Chrin

Oppose

"Bailout" - Cartwright for Congress ad, released October 10, 2018

Campaign contributions

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Matt Cartwright	Democratic Party	$2,432,562	$2,563,832	$429,799	As of December 31, 2018
John Chrin	Republican Party	$2,989,012	$2,985,348	$3,664	As of December 31, 2018
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Democratic district won by Donald Trump

See also: U.S. House districts represented by a Democrat and won by Donald Trump in 2016 and Split-ticket districts in the 2016 presidential and U.S. House elections

This district was one of 13 Democratic-held U.S. House districts that Donald Trump (R) won in the 2016 presidential election. Some were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2018.

2018 election results in Democratic-held U.S. House districts won by Donald Trump in 2016
District	Incumbent	2018 winner	2018 margin	2016 presidential margin	2012 presidential margin
Arizona's 1st	Tom O'Halleran	Tom O'Halleran	D+7.7	Trump+1.1	Romney+2.5
Iowa's 2nd	Dave Loebsack	Dave Loebsack	D+12.2	Trump+4.1	Obama+13.1
Illinois' 17th	Cheri Bustos	Cheri Bustos	D+23.6	Trump+0.7	Obama+17.0
Minnesota's 1st	Tim Walz	Jim Hagedorn	R+0.4	Trump+14.9	Obama+1.4
Minnesota's 7th	Collin Peterson	Collin Peterson	D+4.3	Trump+30.8	Romney+9.8
Minnesota's 8th	Rick Nolan	Pete Stauber	R+5.5	Trump+15.6	Obama+5.5
New Hampshire's 1st	Carol Shea-Porter	Chris Pappas	D+11.7	Trump+1.6	Obama+1.6
New Jersey's 5th	Josh Gottheimer	Josh Gottheimer	D+11.7	Trump+1.1	Romney+3.1
Nevada's 3rd	Jacky Rosen	Susie Lee	D+9.1	Trump+1.0	Obama+0.8
New York's 18th	Sean Patrick Maloney	Sean Patrick Maloney	D+10.2	Trump+1.9	Obama+4.3
Pennsylvania's 8th	Matt Cartwright	Matt Cartwright	D+9.2	Trump+9.6	Obama+11.9
Pennsylvania's 14th	Conor Lamb	Guy Reschenthaler	R+15.9	Trump+29.0	Romney+17.7
Wisconsin's 3rd	Ron Kind	Ron Kind	D+19.4	Trump+4.5	Obama+11.0

Click here to see the 25 Republican-held U.S. House districts that Hillary Clinton (D) won.

Click here to see an overview of all split-ticket districts in the 2016 presidential and U.S. House elections.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District election, Cartwright vs. Chrin
Poll	Matt Cartwright (D)	John Chrin (R)	Undecided	Margin of Error	Sample Size
Sasquehanna Polling and Research (October 28-29, 2018)	57%	40%	2%	+/-4.6	446
New York Times / Sienna College (October 16-19, 2018)	52%	40%	8%	+/-4.7	506
Note: A "0%" finding means the question was not a part of the poll. The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org

District history

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. Click here for more information about the ruling.

To view prior results from the same numeric district, click [show] to expand the section.

2016 See also: Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District election, 2016 Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District was a battleground district in 2016. Incumbent Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R), who served in Congress from 2005 to 2007 and was elected once again in 2010, chose not to seek re-election in 2016, leaving the seat open. Fitzpatrick decided not to run in 2016 because of self-imposed term limits. Brian Fitzpatrick (R), a former FBI agent and the brother of the retiring incumbent, defeated state Rep. Steve Santarsiero (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Fitzpatrick defeated former Bucks County Commissioner Andy Warren and clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist Marc Duome in the Republican primary. Santarsiero defeated business owner Shaughnessy Naughton to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on April 26, 2016. U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 8 General Election, 2016 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Brian Fitzpatrick 54.4% 207,263      Democratic Steve Santarsiero 45.6% 173,555 Total Votes 380,818 Source: Pennsylvania Department of State U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 8 Democratic Primary, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Steve Santarsiero 59.8% 50,416 Shaughnessy Naughton 40.2% 33,864 Total Votes 84,280 Source: Pennsylvania Department of State U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 8 Republican Primary, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Brian Fitzpatrick 78.4% 74,150 Andy Warren 12.5% 11,828 Marc Duome 9.1% 8,641 Total Votes 94,619 Source: Pennsylvania Department of State 2014 See also: Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District elections, 2014 Michael G. Fitzpatrick won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. He defeated Kevin Strouse in the general election. U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 8 General Election, 2014 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Michael G. Fitzpatrick Incumbent 61.9% 137,731      Democratic Kevin Strouse 38.1% 84,767 Total Votes 222,498 Source: Pennsylvania Department of State Pivot Counties See also: Pivot Counties by state Three of 67 Pennsylvania counties—4.5 percent—are pivot counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 pivot counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states. Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008 County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008 Erie County, Pennsylvania 1.56% 16.03% 19.88% Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 19.31% 4.81% 8.41% Northampton County, Pennsylvania 3.78% 4.71% 12.30% In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Pennsylvania with 48.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 47.5 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Pennsylvania cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Pennsylvania supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 53.3 to 43.3 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every presidential election between 2000 and 2012, but voted Republican in 2016. Presidential results by legislative district The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Pennsylvania. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos. In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 89 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 37.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 84 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 37.3 points. Clinton won 19 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections. In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 114 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 20 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 119 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 28.2 points. Trump won 17 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections. 2016 Presidential Results by state House District ' District Obama Romney 2012 Margin Clinton Trump 2016 Margin Party Control 1 74.23% 24.51% D+49.7 62.96% 33.11% D+29.8 D 2 64.16% 34.60% D+29.6 54.43% 40.91% D+13.5 D 3 52.42% 46.30% D+6.1 45.74% 49.76% R+4 D 4 47.98% 50.56% R+2.6 34.90% 60.52% R+25.6 R 5 39.20% 59.23% R+20 30.95% 64.64% R+33.7 R 6 41.46% 56.84% R+15.4 33.98% 61.68% R+27.7 R 7 58.14% 40.56% D+17.6 44.84% 51.68% R+6.8 D 8 31.90% 66.60% R+34.7 24.28% 71.25% R+47 R 9 47.63% 51.12% R+3.5 36.69% 60.36% R+23.7 D 10 45.01% 53.45% R+8.4 35.93% 59.86% R+23.9 R 11 34.69% 63.96% R+29.3 28.50% 66.88% R+38.4 R 12 29.48% 69.55% R+40.1 31.88% 64.41% R+32.5 R 13 43.63% 55.27% R+11.6 42.73% 53.04% R+10.3 R 14 38.01% 60.67% R+22.7 32.28% 64.15% R+31.9 R 15 37.23% 61.54% R+24.3 31.00% 65.48% R+34.5 R 16 53.92% 44.73% D+9.2 46.00% 50.52% R+4.5 D 17 42.32% 56.30% R+14 29.47% 66.56% R+37.1 R 18 57.88% 40.91% D+17 52.85% 44.12% D+8.7 R 19 86.11% 12.84% D+73.3 83.38% 13.65% D+69.7 D 20 61.01% 37.46% D+23.6 60.52% 34.84% D+25.7 D 21 57.83% 40.46% D+17.4 59.05% 36.62% D+22.4 D 22 76.43% 22.64% D+53.8 72.60% 24.54% D+48.1 D 23 73.62% 24.04% D+49.6 80.06% 16.36% D+63.7 D 24 90.72% 8.31% D+82.4 90.51% 7.00% D+83.5 D 25 51.85% 47.12% D+4.7 50.07% 46.87% D+3.2 D 26 45.47% 53.34% R+7.9 43.50% 52.49% R+9 R 27 63.70% 34.87% D+28.8 60.79% 35.34% D+25.5 D 28 36.63% 62.52% R+25.9 43.46% 52.61% R+9.2 R 29 45.87% 53.06% R+7.2 46.10% 50.52% R+4.4 R 30 40.91% 58.24% R+17.3 44.48% 51.61% R+7.1 R 31 50.76% 48.04% D+2.7 55.20% 41.17% D+14 D 32 60.05% 38.99% D+21.1 59.16% 37.83% D+21.3 D 33 49.03% 49.75% R+0.7 45.55% 50.80% R+5.3 D 34 68.62% 30.16% D+38.5 68.78% 28.17% D+40.6 D 35 63.94% 35.20% D+28.7 57.89% 39.41% D+18.5 D 36 60.88% 37.46% D+23.4 56.42% 39.30% D+17.1 D 37 28.95% 69.66% R+40.7 26.19% 69.00% R+42.8 R 38 50.42% 48.41% D+2 46.28% 50.58% R+4.3 D 39 40.59% 58.52% R+17.9 36.49% 60.37% R+23.9 R 40 36.83% 62.34% R+25.5 41.12% 55.57% R+14.4 R 41 42.46% 56.09% R+13.6 41.74% 53.32% R+11.6 R 42 55.31% 43.47% D+11.8 60.20% 35.63% D+24.6 D 43 36.53% 62.17% R+25.6 36.27% 58.57% R+22.3 R 44 41.51% 57.51% R+16 43.16% 53.29% R+10.1 R 45 51.33% 47.58% D+3.7 49.81% 46.66% D+3.2 D 46 44.33% 54.63% R+10.3 39.68% 56.72% R+17 R 47 40.06% 58.68% R+18.6 34.74% 60.75% R+26 R 48 45.49% 53.23% R+7.7 40.70% 55.39% R+14.7 D 49 49.95% 48.61% D+1.3 37.74% 58.75% R+21 R 50 46.33% 52.50% R+6.2 33.66% 63.80% R+30.1 D 51 41.10% 57.87% R+16.8 30.84% 66.70% R+35.9 R 52 40.85% 57.93% R+17.1 30.15% 67.36% R+37.2 R 53 48.81% 49.75% R+0.9 48.69% 46.74% D+2 R 54 36.11% 62.89% R+26.8 34.91% 61.80% R+26.9 R 55 39.89% 58.83% R+18.9 31.43% 65.24% R+33.8 D 56 34.08% 64.90% R+30.8 31.32% 65.45% R+34.1 R 57 36.37% 62.35% R+26 33.60% 62.73% R+29.1 R 58 43.41% 55.41% R+12 34.02% 63.22% R+29.2 R 59 31.93% 66.81% R+34.9 26.42% 70.50% R+44.1 R 60 30.82% 67.77% R+37 24.08% 72.85% R+48.8 R 61 51.45% 47.61% D+3.8 56.68% 39.73% D+16.9 R 62 43.10% 55.21% R+12.1 34.47% 61.69% R+27.2 R 63 29.59% 68.69% R+39.1 22.17% 74.25% R+52.1 R 64 34.96% 63.20% R+28.2 26.01% 69.72% R+43.7 R 65 39.55% 58.80% R+19.3 27.22% 68.57% R+41.4 R 66 27.05% 71.53% R+44.5 18.49% 78.42% R+59.9 R 67 32.35% 65.98% R+33.6 22.32% 74.12% R+51.8 R 68 31.27% 66.99% R+35.7 20.98% 74.62% R+53.6 R 69 25.99% 72.68% R+46.7 18.90% 78.57% R+59.7 R 70 63.08% 35.97% D+27.1 63.15% 33.72% D+29.4 D 71 42.84% 55.39% R+12.5 34.58% 62.24% R+27.7 D 72 37.01% 61.10% R+24.1 26.49% 70.36% R+43.9 D 73 38.10% 60.27% R+22.2 24.79% 72.19% R+47.4 R 74 62.76% 36.10% D+26.7 60.37% 35.55% D+24.8 R 75 36.38% 62.06% R+25.7 24.79% 71.59% R+46.8 R 76 39.88% 58.53% R+18.6 29.08% 67.03% R+37.9 D 77 59.83% 37.36% D+22.5 60.78% 33.56% D+27.2 D 78 22.54% 76.40% R+53.9 16.03% 81.71% R+65.7 R 79 39.22% 59.27% R+20 30.70% 65.55% R+34.9 R 80 26.47% 72.45% R+46 20.96% 76.10% R+55.1 R 81 35.33% 63.30% R+28 30.25% 66.04% R+35.8 R 82 26.74% 72.05% R+45.3 19.62% 77.01% R+57.4 R 83 38.82% 59.70% R+20.9 32.82% 62.88% R+30.1 R 84 26.66% 72.04% R+45.4 18.99% 77.66% R+58.7 R 85 35.45% 62.97% R+27.5 31.55% 64.64% R+33.1 R 86 33.17% 65.18% R+32 25.57% 69.93% R+44.4 R 87 41.20% 57.38% R+16.2 41.82% 53.91% R+12.1 R 88 41.23% 57.13% R+15.9 41.39% 53.53% R+12.1 R 89 34.19% 64.52% R+30.3 29.92% 66.31% R+36.4 R 90 28.09% 70.61% R+42.5 22.85% 73.48% R+50.6 R 91 37.65% 60.93% R+23.3 32.20% 63.86% R+31.7 R 92 31.91% 66.77% R+34.9 28.03% 67.52% R+39.5 R 93 34.53% 63.91% R+29.4 31.05% 64.67% R+33.6 R 94 35.78% 62.70% R+26.9 28.86% 66.88% R+38 R 95 65.14% 33.21% D+31.9 61.43% 33.92% D+27.5 D 96 74.86% 23.26% D+51.6 73.28% 21.55% D+51.7 D 97 40.15% 58.50% R+18.4 42.36% 52.82% R+10.5 R 98 37.73% 60.63% R+22.9 32.52% 61.78% R+29.3 R 99 28.97% 69.60% R+40.6 25.97% 68.75% R+42.8 R 100 34.03% 64.51% R+30.5 28.29% 67.35% R+39.1 R 101 39.74% 58.92% R+19.2 37.40% 58.74% R+21.3 R 102 31.56% 66.91% R+35.3 24.88% 71.23% R+46.3 R 103 81.25% 17.74% D+63.5 78.28% 18.44% D+59.8 D 104 46.98% 51.71% R+4.7 42.83% 53.30% R+10.5 R 105 45.32% 53.34% R+8 44.00% 51.91% R+7.9 R 106 43.98% 54.60% R+10.6 43.80% 51.46% R+7.7 R 107 42.37% 55.71% R+13.3 28.98% 66.96% R+38 R 108 34.84% 63.47% R+28.6 26.52% 69.44% R+42.9 R 109 42.93% 55.31% R+12.4 32.18% 63.26% R+31.1 R 110 38.40% 59.80% R+21.4 25.85% 69.59% R+43.7 R 111 39.36% 59.14% R+19.8 28.62% 67.57% R+39 R 112 69.10% 29.74% D+39.4 55.53% 41.46% D+14.1 D 113 67.49% 31.46% D+36 56.83% 40.31% D+16.5 D 114 58.64% 40.26% D+18.4 44.66% 52.39% R+7.7 D 115 64.27% 34.56% D+29.7 58.15% 38.28% D+19.9 D 116 40.79% 57.87% R+17.1 31.33% 66.07% R+34.7 R 117 41.83% 56.50% R+14.7 30.66% 66.00% R+35.3 R 118 55.83% 43.08% D+12.8 40.74% 56.46% R+15.7 D 119 51.23% 47.10% D+4.1 35.40% 61.77% R+26.4 D 120 53.79% 44.76% D+9 42.55% 54.62% R+12.1 R 121 61.17% 37.18% D+24 47.71% 48.91% R+1.2 D 122 44.86% 53.22% R+8.4 30.76% 65.46% R+34.7 R 123 51.65% 46.75% D+4.9 31.73% 65.03% R+33.3 D 124 37.56% 60.67% R+23.1 25.51% 70.74% R+45.2 R 125 36.51% 62.03% R+25.5 23.43% 72.95% R+49.5 R 126 63.45% 34.97% D+28.5 57.62% 38.36% D+19.3 D 127 80.68% 18.33% D+62.4 77.08% 19.95% D+57.1 D 128 41.43% 57.06% R+15.6 38.02% 57.47% R+19.5 R 129 41.67% 56.89% R+15.2 37.61% 57.86% R+20.3 R 130 42.78% 55.70% R+12.9 35.25% 60.10% R+24.9 R 131 44.49% 54.03% R+9.5 41.91% 53.76% R+11.9 R 132 65.53% 33.25% D+32.3 64.10% 32.82% D+31.3 D 133 59.02% 39.41% D+19.6 52.89% 42.75% D+10.1 D 134 43.39% 55.42% R+12 41.92% 54.04% R+12.1 R 135 64.54% 34.06% D+30.5 61.91% 34.09% D+27.8 D 136 59.36% 39.16% D+20.2 53.35% 42.48% D+10.9 D 137 46.66% 52.14% R+5.5 40.33% 56.02% R+15.7 R 138 43.63% 55.31% R+11.7 39.52% 56.92% R+17.4 R 139 39.33% 59.34% R+20 30.73% 66.15% R+35.4 R 140 63.59% 35.05% D+28.5 54.38% 41.60% D+12.8 D 141 62.97% 35.53% D+27.4 52.82% 43.31% D+9.5 D 142 49.07% 49.78% R+0.7 46.32% 50.25% R+3.9 R 143 45.51% 53.19% R+7.7 47.61% 48.14% R+0.5 R 144 44.70% 54.17% R+9.5 45.34% 50.70% R+5.4 R 145 44.16% 54.36% R+10.2 39.59% 55.70% R+16.1 R 146 50.85% 47.96% D+2.9 48.37% 47.29% D+1.1 R 147 43.65% 54.97% R+11.3 41.16% 54.54% R+13.4 R 148 60.73% 38.33% D+22.4 67.12% 29.75% D+37.4 D 149 60.45% 38.56% D+21.9 66.82% 29.98% D+36.8 D 150 49.69% 49.13% D+0.6 51.73% 44.27% D+7.5 R 151 50.81% 48.28% D+2.5 55.25% 41.23% D+14 R 152 52.27% 46.64% D+5.6 54.58% 41.63% D+12.9 R 153 63.65% 35.32% D+28.3 66.36% 30.20% D+36.2 D 154 74.52% 24.59% D+49.9 77.91% 19.15% D+58.8 D 155 47.56% 51.25% R+3.7 51.80% 43.97% D+7.8 R 156 49.44% 49.46% R+0 54.28% 41.62% D+12.7 D 157 52.13% 46.72% D+5.4 58.80% 37.01% D+21.8 R 158 48.38% 50.45% R+2.1 52.99% 42.96% D+10 R 159 83.68% 15.63% D+68 77.53% 20.25% D+57.3 D 160 46.71% 52.30% R+5.6 49.20% 47.16% D+2 R 161 55.77% 43.14% D+12.6 53.41% 43.19% D+10.2 D 162 57.37% 41.38% D+16 49.64% 46.80% D+2.8 R 163 55.33% 43.45% D+11.9 54.70% 41.57% D+13.1 R 164 82.20% 16.96% D+65.2 81.93% 15.75% D+66.2 D 165 48.98% 50.02% R+1 51.81% 44.91% D+6.9 R 166 61.53% 37.33% D+24.2 67.49% 28.93% D+38.6 D 167 48.42% 50.53% R+2.1 55.67% 40.48% D+15.2 R 168 47.78% 51.08% R+3.3 51.51% 44.79% D+6.7 R 169 34.04% 64.45% R+30.4 27.83% 67.92% R+40.1 R 170 56.95% 42.17% D+14.8 49.20% 48.35% D+0.9 R 171 40.68% 57.64% R+17 39.86% 55.53% R+15.7 R 172 59.28% 39.77% D+19.5 55.26% 41.93% D+13.3 D 173 64.49% 34.35% D+30.1 56.90% 40.57% D+16.3 D 174 61.67% 37.38% D+24.3 57.06% 40.39% D+16.7 D 175 79.87% 18.59% D+61.3 81.59% 15.10% D+66.5 D 176 50.90% 47.71% D+3.2 41.51% 54.94% R+13.4 R 177 65.38% 33.22% D+32.2 56.98% 39.92% D+17.1 R 178 42.85% 56.21% R+13.4 46.82% 50.00% R+3.2 R 179 92.03% 7.63% D+84.4 89.49% 8.95% D+80.5 D 180 91.88% 7.78% D+84.1 90.18% 8.68% D+81.5 D 181 94.57% 4.54% D+90 92.34% 5.28% D+87.1 D 182 80.77% 17.83% D+62.9 85.13% 12.25% D+72.9 D 183 46.31% 52.33% R+6 37.34% 58.86% R+21.5 R 184 74.15% 24.62% D+49.5 68.00% 29.12% D+38.9 D 185 81.50% 18.03% D+63.5 77.31% 21.01% D+56.3 D 186 92.45% 6.89% D+85.6 90.67% 7.27% D+83.4 D 187 41.65% 56.98% R+15.3 39.49% 56.43% R+16.9 R 188 92.78% 5.93% D+86.9 93.67% 3.86% D+89.8 D 189 52.75% 45.91% D+6.8 45.71% 51.06% R+5.4 R 190 97.49% 2.19% D+95.3 95.73% 2.77% D+93 D 191 97.46% 2.39% D+95.1 95.90% 3.11% D+92.8 D 192 96.72% 3.08% D+93.6 95.06% 3.68% D+91.4 D 193 32.78% 65.92% R+33.1 27.49% 68.67% R+41.2 R 194 70.09% 28.46% D+41.6 72.03% 24.29% D+47.7 D 195 92.86% 6.25% D+86.6 92.54% 5.33% D+87.2 D 196 35.76% 62.90% R+27.1 28.34% 67.63% R+39.3 R 197 97.04% 2.75% D+94.3 95.62% 3.52% D+92.1 D 198 97.73% 1.99% D+95.7 96.12% 2.54% D+93.6 D 199 39.71% 58.82% R+19.1 37.16% 58.63% R+21.5 R 200 94.69% 4.79% D+89.9 94.29% 3.97% D+90.3 D 201 98.24% 1.52% D+96.7 96.47% 2.17% D+94.3 D 202 80.92% 18.39% D+62.5 78.97% 19.01% D+60 D 203 96.00% 3.80% D+92.2 94.44% 4.23% D+90.2 D Total 52.08% 46.68% D+5.4 47.85% 48.58% R+0.7 - Source: Daily Kos State overview Partisan control This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Pennsylvania heading into the 2018 elections. Congressional delegation Following the 2016 elections, Democrats and Republicans each held one U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Republicans held 12 of 17 U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania. State executives As of May 2018, Democrats held five of 11 state executive positions, while six were held by nonpartisan officials. The governor of Pennsylvania was Democrat Tom Wolf. State legislature Republicans controlled both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. They had a 120-79 majority in the state House and a 33-16 majority in the state Senate. Trifecta status Pennsylvania was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Tom Wolf (D) served as governor, while Republicans controlled the state legislature. 2018 elections See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2018 Pennsylvania held elections for the following positions in 2018: One U.S. Senate seat 18 U.S. House seats Governor and lieutenant governor 25 of 50 state Senate seats 203 state House seats Demographics Demographic data for Pennsylvania   Pennsylvania U.S. Total population: 12,791,904 316,515,021 Land area (sq mi): 44,743 3,531,905 Race and ethnicity** White: 81.6% 73.6% Black/African American: 11% 12.6% Asian: 3.1% 5.1% Native American: 0.2% 0.8% Pacific Islander: 0% 0.2% Two or more: 2.1% 3% Hispanic/Latino: 6.4% 17.1% Education High school graduation rate: 89.2% 86.7% College graduation rate: 28.6% 29.8% Income Median household income: $53,599 $53,889 Persons below poverty level: 15.9% 11.3% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Pennsylvania. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. As of July 2017, Pennsylvania had a population of approximately 12,800,000 people, with its three largest cities being Philadelphia (pop. est. 1.6 million), Pittsburgh (pop. est. 300,000), and Allentown (pop. est. 120,000). State election history This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Pennsylvania Department of State. Historical elections Presidential elections, 2000-2016 This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Pennsylvania every year from 2000 to 2016. Election results (President of the United States), Pennsylvania 2000-2016 Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%) 2016 Donald Trump 48.6% Hillary Clinton 47.9% 0.7% 2012 Barack Obama 52.1% Mitt Romney 46.7% 5.4% 2008 Barack Obama 54.7% John McCain 44.3% 10.4% 2004 John Kerry 51.0% George Bush 48.5% 2.5% 2000 Al Gore 50.6% George Bush 46.4% 4.2% U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016 This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years. Election results (U.S. Senator), Pennsylvania 2000-2016 Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%) 2016 Patrick Toomey 48.8% Katie McGinty 47.3% 1.5% 2012 Bob Casey 53.7% Tom Smith 44.6% 9.1% 2010 Patrick Toomey 51.0% Joe Sestak 49.0% 2.0% 2006 Bob Casey 58.7% Rick Santorum 41.3% 17.4% 2004 Arlen Specter 52.6% Joseph Hoeffel 42.0% 10.6% 2000 Rick Santorum 52.4% Ron Klink 45.5% 6.9% Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016 This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Pennsylvania. Election results (Governor), Pennsylvania 2000-2016 Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%) 2014 Tom Wolf 54.9% Thomas Corbett 45.1% 9.8% 2010 Thomas Corbett 54.5% Dan Onorato 45.5% 9.0% 2006 Ed Rendell 60.4% Lynn Swann 39.6% 20.8% 2002 Ed Rendell 53.4% Mike Fisher 44.3% 9.1% Congressional delegation, 2000-2016 This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years. Congressional delegation, Pennsylvania 2000-2016 Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power 2016 13 72.2% 5 27.8% R+8 2014 13 72.2% 5 27.8% R+8 2012 13 72.2% 5 27.8% R+8 2010 12 63.2% 7 36.8% R+5 2008 7 36.8% 12 63.2% D+5 2006 8 42.1% 11 57.9% D+3 2004 12 63.2% 7 36.8% R+5 2002 12 63.2% 7 36.8% R+5 2000 11 52.4% 10 47.6% R+1 Trifectas, 1992-2017 A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office. Pennsylvania Party Control: 1992-2025 One year of a Democratic trifecta  •  Twelve years of Republican trifectas Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years. Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Governor D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D Senate R D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R D D _

See also

• Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District election (May 15, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District election (May 15, 2018 Republican primary)
• United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania, 2018
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2018

Footnotes

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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)