Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district is located in Northwestern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It contains all of Erie County, Crawford County, Mercer County, Lawrence County, Butler County, and parts of Venango County. The district is represented by Republican Mike Kelly. Prior to redistricting on March 19, 2018, the 16th congressional district was located in the southeastern part of the state, just west of Philadelphia. Previously, Northwestern Pennsylvania was represented by the 3rd congressional district. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew the district in February 2018 after ruling the previous map violated the state constitution due to partisan

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

. What was the 16th district was modified to become the eleventh district, and the old third district likewise became the 16th, for the 2018 elections and representation thereafter. Adams County, which includes Gettysburg, was located in the district in 1863, at the time of the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

and the

Gettysburg Address The Gettysburg Address is a Public speaking, speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, U.S. president, following the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The speech has come to be viewed as one ...

. Democrat Alexander Coffroth was the district's representative at the time.

Recent election results from statewide races

History

2003–2018

Created after the 2000 census, the 16th district was composed of a large portion of southern

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States ** Chester County Council, boy scout council in Pennsylvania. * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire ...

, most of Lancaster County, and a sliver of Berks County, including the city of

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. The 16th stretched from the southwestern suburbs of Philadelphia in the east to the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

in the west, and north to include areas around Reading. In 2000, the 16th Congressional District was home to 646,328 residents, according to the U.S. census, and its population has increased since that year. Residents of Lancaster County made up the majority of the district's population, followed by Chester County and Berks County. The district was one of the Pennsylvania districts accused of being the result of

. Before 2018's redistricting, PA-03 was rated a Solid Republican seat by Cook. Pockets of urban areas exist in and around the cities of Lancaster, Reading, and West Chester.

2019

In February 2018, the

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Judiciary of Pennsylvania, Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as ...

ruled that the previous map was unconstitutional due to gerrymandering and released a new congressional map. The 16th district was relocated to the northwestern part of the state. The new 16th includes the cities of Erie,

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

, Hermitage,

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

and Meadville. After redistricting, PA-16 was rated as a likely Republican seat by Cook in 2018. It is not considered a competitive district in 2020.

Current counties and municipalities

Butler County (57) : All 57 municipalities Crawford County (51) : All 51 municipalities Erie County (38) : All 38 municipalities Lawrence County (27) : All 27 municipalities Mercer County (47) : All 47 municipalities Venango County (13) : Barkeyville, Canal Township, Cooperstown, Franklin, Frenchcreek Township, Irwin Township, Jackson Township, Mineral Township,

Polk DNA polymerase kappa is a DNA polymerase that in humans is encoded by the ''POLK'' gene. It is involved in translesion synthesis DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell (biology), cell identifies and corrects damage to the ...

, Sandycreek Township, Sugarcreek, Utica, Victory Township (part; also 15th)

List of members representing the district

The district was created with two seats in 1823

1823–1833: two seats

1833-present: one seat

Election results

Source

Historical district boundaries

File:Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District.gif, 2003–2013 File:Pennsylvania US Congressional District 16 (since 2013).tif, 2013–2019 File:District_16.png, 2019–2023

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

Congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District 16 Constituencies established in 1823 1823 establishments in Pennsylvania