Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district

History

Pre-2018 boundaries

In February 2018, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the district map violated the state constitution due to gerrymandering and redrew all of the state's congressional districts. The 18th and 14th districts swapped numbers and had their boundaries adjusted for the 2018 elections (after March's special election) and thereafter.

Before the court-ordered redistricting in February 2018, the district was concentrated in the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh. It was predominantly white, although it contained a diverse range of suburbs. It was drawn in such a way that in some locations, neighborhoods and even streets were split between the 18th and the neighboring 12th and 14th districts. In parts of the eastern portion of the district, one side of the street was in the 12th while the other side was in the 18th. In the west, one side of the street was in the 14th while the other side was in the 18th.

Although there were 35,000 more Democrats in the district than Republicans in 2018, the district had been trending increasingly Republican since the mid-1990s; most of the district's state legislators were Republicans. The district was home to many large coal mines and the energy industry was an important employer. The western part of the district contained some rural regions of Washington County, as well as the very wealthy suburbs in the northern part of that county, which tends to be more Republican than the part contained in the neighboring 9th District. The district also contained many of Allegheny County's southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, which ranged from traditionally wealthy areas such as Upper St. Clair to middle-class communities such as Bethel Park and working-class labor towns such as Elizabeth.

The district skewed older and had the second-oldest electorate in the state in 2017.

The district wound along the eastern suburbs at the edge of Allegheny County, including most of the large suburban commercial center of Monroeville, and in western Westmoreland County. Central Westmoreland County, including the city of Greensburg, was also part of the district. It also contained the rural foothills of the county at the district's eastern end. Westmoreland County has become a major Republican stronghold.

Voter registration

Dissolution

The district became obsolete following the 2020 United States census. It was largely replaced by Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district, while some suburbs of Pittsburgh, such as Wilkinsburg, were redrawn into the 17th district.

Election results from statewide races

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2012

2014

2016

2018 special election

2018

2020

Notes

References

References

1. (January 24, 2018). "Pennsylvania Supreme Court strikes down state's congressional districts". 2018 CBS Interactive Inc..
2. (February 19, 2018). "The New Pennsylvania House Districts Are In. We Review the Mapmakers' Choices.". The New York Times.
3. "Home".
4. (December 22, 2017). "Lamb, Saccone both hope for blue-collar support in special congressional election". Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
5. (18 October 2021). "Voter Registration Statistics by Congressional District".
6. (April 26, 2021). "Census Bureau announces 331 million people in US, Texas will add two congressional seats". CNN.
7. Rakich, Ryan Best, Aaron Bycoffe and Nathaniel. (2021-08-09). "What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State - Pennsylvania".
8. "DRA 2020".
9. "Pennsylvania 2012 pres-by-new-CD.xlsx - Google Spreadsheets".
10. (February 28, 2013). "Statistics of Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012". Karen Haas, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives.
11. (November 4, 2014). "Pennsylvania 2014 General Election - November 4, 2014 Official Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
12. (November 8, 2016). "Pennsylvania 2016 General Election - November 8, 2016 Official Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
13. (April 2, 2018). "Allegheny County's District 18 special election results are finally official". The Incline.
14. (November 6, 2018). "2018 General Election: Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Secretary of State.
15. "2020 Presidential Election - Representative in Congress".