2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania


The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the 18 U.S. representatives from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, one from each of the state's 18 congressional districts.
The elections coincided with the 2018 gubernatorial election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.
In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map, ruling it had been unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans. New maps were subsequently adopted in February 2018.
The 2018 general election saw the Democrats gain four seats and the Republicans gain one seat, for a Democratic net gain of three seats, changing the state's representation from 12 to 6 Republican to a 9–9 tie. In addition, Pennsylvanians in several districts elected female candidates to the U.S. House, thus ending four years of all-male Congressional representation in the state.

Redistricting

In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional map, ruling it had been unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans. New maps were subsequently adopted in February 2018, for use in the 2018 elections; they took effect with representation in 2019.

Overview

Statewide

District

Results of the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania:

District 1

The 1st district previously consisted of central and South Philadelphia, the City of Chester, the Philadelphia International Airport and other small sections of Delaware County. Under the new congressional map that was in place in 2019, the first district overlaps with much of the former 8th district, which was represented by Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick took office in 2017, succeeding his brother, former Representative Mike Fitzpatrick. The new 1st district consists of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Brian Fitzpatrick, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Dean Malik, former Bucks County assistant district attorney and candidate for this seat in 2010 & 2016
    Withdrawn
  • Valerie Mihalek, former Yardley Borough council member and deputy district director for former U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick

    Primary results

Democratic primary

The old 8th district was included on the initial list of Republican held seats being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Candidates

Nominee
The race featured a number of negative ads between Reddick and Wallace. With Reddick's campaign releasing an ad calling Wallace a “Maryland multi-millionaire” and stating that he had case an absentee ballot cast from his second home in a South African “gated luxury estate”. The Wallace campaign responded with an ad higlishting Reddick flubbing a question about the so-called “global gag rule” during a campaign stop in Ottsville, and for her having been registered as a Republican for most of her adult life.
Many DC Democrats expressed excitement about Wallace's potential to spend big to defeat Fitzpatrick, especially in the expensive Philadelphia market. He loaned his campaign $2.5 million while Reddick only raised $363,000 and was shunned by most party strategists.

Endorsements

Primary results

General election

Endorsements

Debate

Polling

Predictions

Results

Analysis

Fitzpatrick held out to win re-election, despite many similar suburban districts held by Republicans falling to Democrats in the 2018 cycle. Fitzpatrick did this by establishing a reputation for himself as an independent centrist who attained endorsements from several usually-left-leaning and nonpartisan groups without enraging the more fervently pro-Trump wing of the Republican party. Analysts considered the Democratic nominee Scott Wallace an unusually weak candidate: he was a wealthy heir who moved to the district, opening up accusations of carpetbagging, and made several gaffes and missteps. Editor Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report wrote that Wallace was perhaps the weakest candidate of the 2018 cycle.

District 2

The 2nd district consists of the northern half of Philadelphia. It mostly overlaps with the old 1st District. That district's incumbent, Democrat Bob Brady, had served since 1998, but did not run for reelection. The incumbent of the old 2nd district was Dwight Evans, but Evans opted to follow most of his constituents into the 3rd District.
The new map drew the home of fellow Democrat Brendan Boyle, who had represented the neighboring 13th District since 2015, into the 2nd, leading to speculation that he would run for reelection there. Soon after the new map was released, Boyle confirmed that he would indeed run in the 2nd.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Brendan Boyle, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Michele Lawrence, former senior vice president for Wells Fargo
    Declined
  • Bob Brady, incumbent U.S. representative

    Endorsements

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • David Torres, community activist

    Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 3

The 3rd district was previously located in Northwestern Pennsylvania, but now covers downtown and northern Philadelphia, and overlaps with much of the previous 2nd district. The incumbent from the 2nd district was Democrat Dwight Evans, who had held office since 2016. Evans defeated incumbent Democratic Representative Chaka Fattah in the 2016 Democratic primary, and then went on to be elected with 90% in both the general election and a simultaneous special election for the remainder of the term after Fattah resigned.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Dwight Evans, incumbent U.S. representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Kevin Johnson

    Endorsements

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Bryan Leib

    Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 4

The old 4th district was in South Central Pennsylvania, but the new 4th district is centered in Montgomery County. The district overlaps with the former 13th district. The incumbent from this district, Democrat Brendan Boyle, could have sought re-election in either this district or the new 2nd district, which absorbed his home and most of the old 13th's share of Philadelphia. Boyle opted to run in the 2nd, making the 4th an open seat.

Democratic primary

State Senator Daylin Leach had announced that he would run for Congress in the old 7th District, but was expected to switch races after his home was drawn into the new 4th. However, on February 24, 2018, Leach succumbed to pressures from fellow Democrats, including Governor Tom Wolf, to abandon his congressional campaign in the face of accusations of sexual harassment. However, he remained in his Pennsylvania Senate seat.

Candidates

Nominee
  • Madeleine Dean, state representative
    Eliminated in primary
  • Shira Goodman, public policy advocate
  • Joe Hoeffel, former U.S. representative, nominee for Senate in 2004 and candidate for governor in 2010
    Withdrawn
  • Mary Jo Daley, state representative
  • Daylin Leach, state senator and candidate for the 13th district in 2014
    Declined
  • Allyson Schwartz, former U.S. representative and candidate for governor in 2014

    Endorsements

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Dan David, investor

    Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Results

District 5

The old 5th district was in North Central Pennsylvania, but the new 5th district consists of Delaware County, portions of southern Philadelphia, and a sliver of Montgomery County. The district overlaps with much of the old 7th district, whose incumbent Republican Representative Pat Meehan chose not to seek re-election, due to allegations regarding a sexual harassment complaint that was settled with the use of taxpayer funds, and subsequently resigned from office in April.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee
  • Mary Gay Scanlon, attorney and former Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board member
    Eliminated in primary
  • Larry Arata, teacher and environmental advocate
  • Margo L. Davidson, state representative
  • Thaddeus Kirkland, mayor of Chester
  • Richard Lazer, former deputy mayor of Philadelphia
  • Lindy Li, financial manager
  • Ashley Lunkenheimer, former assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • Molly Sheehan, scientist
  • Greg Vitali, state representative
  • Theresa Wright, entrepreneur
    Withdrawn
  • George Badey III, attorney and nominee for this seat in 2012
  • Shelly Chauncey, attorney and former CIA agent
  • Dan Muroff, attorney
  • David Wertime, journalist