Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
's second congressional district includes all of
Northeast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending ...
and parts of
North Philadelphia
North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...
east of Broad Street, as well as portions of Philadelphia's River Wards. It has been represented by Democrat
Brendan Boyle
Brendan Francis Boyle (born February 6, 1977) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing a district in the Philadelphia area since 2015. He represented the 13th district ...
since 2019.
The district is demographically diverse, with about 39% of residents identifying as white, nearly 27% of residents identifying as black, 26% identifying as Hispanic or Latino (of any race), and 8% identifying as Asian.
Prior to 2018, the district covered
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
,
North Philadelphia
North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...
, and
Northwest Philadelphia
Northwest Philadelphia is a section of the city of Philadelphia. The official boundary is Stenton Avenue to the north, the Schuylkill River to the southwest, Northwestern Avenue to the northwest, Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, and Wister Stree ...
, as well as parts of
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Center City, and western suburbs such as
Lower Merion Township
Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the ...
in Montgomery County. Before the 113th Congress, the district did not contain Lower Merion Township but instead contained Cheltenham Township.
The
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme Ju ...
redrew the district in February 2018 after ruling the previous map unconstitutional due to partisan gerrymandering. The new second district is essentially the successor to the previous first district. As such, it remained heavily Democratic for the 2018 election and representation thereafter.
Brendan Boyle
Brendan Francis Boyle (born February 6, 1977) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing a district in the Philadelphia area since 2015. He represented the 13th district ...
, the incumbent from the previous 13th district, ran for re-election in the new 2nd district. Parts of the previous second district were shifted to the third.Congressman
Chaka Fattah
Chaka Fattah (born Arthur Davenport; November 21, 1956) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House for from 1995 to 2016. The district included portions of North Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, and West P ...
represented the district from 1995 to 2016. On July 29, 2015, Fattah and a group of associates were indicted on federal charges related to their alleged roles in a racketeering and
influence peddling
Influence peddling is the practice of using one's influence in government or connections with authorities to obtain favours or preferential treatment for another, usually in return for payment. It is also called traffic of influence or trading i ...
conspiracy. On April 26, 2016, Dwight Evans toppled Fattah in a competitive Democratic primary election. Fattah resigned June 23, 2016. Evans then won a special election to fill Fattah's seat. He also won election for the regular term beginning January 3, 2017. Evans won re-election in the new 3rd congressional district.
District created in 1795 from the .
Two additional seats were added in 1803. The third seat was eliminated in 1813, and the second seat eliminated in 1823. In 1833, the second seat was restored. In 1843, it returned to being a single-member district.
1843–present: One seat
Recent elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
Historical district boundaries
File:PA-2nd.gif, 2003–2013
File:Pennsylvania US Congressional District 2 (since 2013).tif, 2013–2019
File:Pennsylvania Congressional District 2.png, 2019–2023