Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district is a district in the state of Pennsylvania. It includes all of Chester County and the southeastern portion of Berks County including the city of Reading and its southeastern suburbs. The district is represented by Democrat Chrissy Houlahan, who has served in Congress since 2019. As currently drawn, the district is among the wealthiest in Pennsylvania. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew the district in February 2018 after ruling the previous map unconstitutional.[5]
| Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district | |
|---|---|
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023 (Chester County outlined in red) | |
| Representative | |
| Population (2023) | 777,885[2] |
| Median household income | $102,246[3] |
| Ethnicity |
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| Cook PVI | D+5[4] |
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Jim Gerlach served as the district's Representative from 2003 to 2014. In 2004 and 2006, Gerlach won re-election against fellow attorney and now Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lois Murphy. In 2008, he successfully ran for re-election against businessman and veteran Bob Roggio. In the 2010 and 2012 elections, Gerlach defeated physician and Iraq War veteran Manan Trivedi, the Democratic nominee.
In January 2014, Gerlach announced that he would not stand for reelection to the 114th Congress. In the race to succeed Gerlach, Chester County Commissioner Ryan Costello won the Republican nomination and physician and Iraq war veteran Manan Trivedi secured the Democratic party's nomination.[6]
In February 2018, following the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania's ordered redrawing of congressional districts, Costello announced he would not stand for reelection and retire at the end of the 115th Congress, leaving businessman Greg McCauley as the sole Republican candidate while the Democrats nominated Air Force veteran Chrissy Houlahan.[7] Houlahan defeated McCauley in the general election.[8]
Recent statewide election results
edit| Year | Office | Results |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Representative | Gerlach 51.4–48.6% |
| 2004 | President | Kerry 52–48% |
| Representative | Gerlach 51–49% | |
| 2006 | Representative | Gerlach 50.7–49.3% |
| 2008 | President | Obama 58–41% |
| Representative | Gerlach 52.1–47.9% | |
| 2010 | Representative | Gerlach 57.1–42.9% |
| 2012 | President | Romney 50.6–48.1% |
| Representative | Gerlach 57.1–42.9% | |
| 2014 | Representative | Costello 56.3–43.7% |
| 2016 | President | Clinton 47.6–47.0% |
| Representative | Costello 57.3–42.7% | |
| 2018 | Representative | Houlahan 58.8–41.1% |
| 2020 | President | Biden 56.9–41.9% |
| Representative | Houlahan 56.1–43.9% | |
| 2022 | Governor | Shapiro 61–37% |
| Senate | Fetterman 56–41% |
Geography
edit2003 to 2012
editPrior to the court-ordered redistricting, the 6th district's incarnation dated back to 2002. Its strange shape brought charges of gerrymandering by Democrats who argued it "looms like a dragon descending on Philadelphia from the west, splitting up towns and communities throughout Montgomery and Berks Counties."[9] The combination of very affluent suburban areas of Philadelphia and sparsely populated rural areas was possibly designed to capture Republican voters, but changes in voting patterns in southeastern Pennsylvania has made the district much more competitive. The district had a Cook Partisan Voting Index score of R+1 after the 2012 redistricting. It was rated D+4 before then.[10] The district included parts of Montgomery County, Chester County, Berks County and Lehigh County. The largest cities in the district were Reading and Norristown.
2013 to 2018
editThe redistricting of 2011/2012 changed it to include parts of Chester, Montgomery, Berks and Lebanon counties. The following municipalities constituted the sixth district:[11]
Berks County
| Townships | Boroughs |
|---|---|
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Chester County
| Townships | Boroughs |
|---|---|
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Lebanon County
| Townships | Boroughs |
|---|---|
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Montgomery County
| Townships | Boroughs |
|---|---|
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2019
editThe court-ordered map made the 6th a more compact district in Berks and Chester counties.[5]
List of members representing the district
edit1791–1793: one seat
editDistrict created in 1791 from the at-large district.
| Representative | Party | Years | Cong ress |
Electoral history | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District first established March 4, 1791 | |||||
 Andrew Gregg (Carlisle) |
Anti-Administration | March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793 |
2nd | Elected in 1791. Redistricted to the at-large district. | |
District redistricted in 1793 to the at-large district.
1795–1823: one seat, then two
editDistrict created in 1795.
1823 – present: one seat
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Recent election results
edit2012
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Gerlach (Incumbent) | 191,725 | 57.1 | |
| Democratic | Manan Trivedi | 143,803 | 42.9 | |
| Total votes | 335,528 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2014
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ryan Costello | 119,643 | 56.3 | |
| Democratic | Manan Trivedi | 92,901 | 43.7 | |
| Total votes | 212,544 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2016
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Ryan Costello (incumbent) | 207,469 | 57.2 | |
| Democratic | Mike Parrish | 155,000 | 42.8 | |
| Total votes | 362,469 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
2018
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chrissy Houlahan | 177,704 | 58.9 | |
| Republican | Greg McCauley | 124,124 | 41.1 | |
| Total votes | 301,828 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | ||||
2020
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chrissy Houlahan (incumbent) | 226,440 | 56.1 | |
| Republican | John Emmons | 177,526 | 43.9 | |
| Total votes | 403,966 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2022
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chrissy Houlahan (incumbent) | 190,386 | 58.3 | |
| Republican | Guy Ciarrocchi | 136,097 | 41.7 | |
| Total votes | 326,483 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Historical district boundaries
edit-
2003–2013 -
2013–2019 -
2019–2023
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Congressional Districts Relationship Files (State-based) - Geography - U.S. Census Bureau". Archived from the original on April 2, 2013.
- ^ "My Congressional District".
- ^ "Congressional District 6 (118th Congress), Pennsylvania" (under "Socio-Economic" header), census.gov. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
- ^ "2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List". The Cook Political Report. July 12, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Cohn, Nate; Bloch, Matthew; Quealy, Kevin (February 19, 2018). "The New Pennsylvania House Districts Are In. We Review the Mapmakers' Choices". The Upshot. The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District elections, 2014 - Ballotpedia".
- ^ Prokop, Andrew (May 16, 2018). "These 6 Pennsylvania Democratic nominees are key to the battle for House control". Vox. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Burke, Michael (November 6, 2018). "Democrat Chrissy Houlahan elected to House in Pennsylvania". The Hill. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ VIETH et al. v. JUBELIRER, PRESIDENT OF THE PENNSYLVANIA SENATE, et al., 541 U.S. 267 (United States Supreme Court 2004) (see http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=02-1580) (plurality opinion of Court holding political gerrymandering claims in the District nonjusticiable based on the lack of workable standards)
- ^ "2012 COMPETITIVE HOUSE RACE CHART". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ "Municipalities | Congressman Ryan Costello". Archived from the original on September 7, 2016.
- ^ "Statistics of Presidential and Congressional Election of November 6, 2012". Karen Haas, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. February 28, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
- ^ "Pennsylvania 2014 General Election - November 4, 2014 Official Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State. November 4, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ "Pennsylvania 2016 General Election - November 8, 2016 Official Results". Pennsylvania Secretary of State. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
- ^ "2018 General Election: Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ "2020 Presidential Election - Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
- ^ "2022 General Election Official Returns - Representative in Congress". Pennsylvania Department of State.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present