November 4, 2014 (2014-11-04) 2016 → 13 5 55.54% 44.46% Start date November 4, 2014 | 13 5 1,833,205 1,467,594 6.77% 5.82% | |
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The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 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 other elections to the United States Senate and House of Representatives and various state and local elections, including the Governor of Pennsylvania and Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.
Contents
District 1
The 1st district includes central and South Philadelphia, the City of Chester, the Philadelphia International Airport and other small sections of Delaware County. The incumbent is Democrat Bob Brady, who has represented the district since 1998. He was re-elected with 85% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+28.
Brady was unopposed in the Democratic primary. He faces Republican Megan Rath, a medical-equipment saleswoman, who was also unopposed in her primary election.
District 2
The 2nd district includes parts of West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia and Northwest Philadelphia in addition to Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County. The incumbent is Democrat Chaka Fattah, who has represented the district since 1995. He was re-elected with 89% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+38.
He was unopposed in the Democratic primary. He faces Republican Armond James, a Philadelphia schoolteacher, who was also unopposed in his primary election.
District 3
The 3rd district is located in Northwestern Pennsylvania and includes the cities of Erie, Sharon, Hermitage, Butler and Meadville. The incumbent is Republican Mike Kelly, who has represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+8.
He was unopposed in the Republican primary. He faces Democrat Dan LaVallee, who was also unopposed in his primary election. Democrats Rob Joswiak and Matt Ryan had previously declared their candidacies, but withdrew before the primary.
District 4
The 4th district is located in South Central Pennsylvania and includes all of Adams and York counties and parts of Cumberland County. The incumbent is Republican Scott Perry, who has represented the district since 2013. He was elected with 60% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+9.
He was unopposed in the Republican primary. He faces Democrat Linda D. Thompson, former Mayor of Harrisburg, who was also unopposed in her primary election.
District 5
The 5th district, the state's largest and most sparsely populated, is located in North Central Pennsylvania and includes all of Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clinton, Elk, Forest, Huntingdon, Jefferson, McKean and Potter counties and parts of Clearfield, Crawford, Erie, Tioga, Warren and Venango counties. The incumbent is Republican Glenn Thompson, who has represented the district since 2009. He was re-elected with 63% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+8.
Republican primary
Thompson was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Democratic primary
Jay Paterno, a former assistant football coach at Penn State and the son of former head coach Joe Paterno, had considering running for the Democratic nomination, but he instead announced he would run for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, though he later withdrew from that race. U.S. Army veteran Thomas Tarantella and family law attorney Kerith Strano Taylor ran for the Democratic nomination.
District 6
The 6th district includes communities north and west of the City of Philadelphia. The incumbent is Republican Jim Gerlach, who has represented the district since 2003. He was re-elected with 57% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+2. Gerlach is retiring.
Candidates
Candidates
Polling
District 7
The 7th district is located in the Philadelphia suburbs, including most of Delaware County along with portions of Chester, Montgomery, Berks and Lancaster counties. The incumbent is Republican Pat Meehan, who has represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+2.
Meehan was unopposed in the Republican primary. He faced Democrat Mary Ellen Balchunis, a political science professor at La Salle University, who was also unopposed in her primary election.
District 8
The 8th district is located in Southeastern Pennsylvania and includes Bucks County, along with portions of Montgomery County. The incumbent is Republican Mike Fitzpatrick, who has represented the district since 2011, and previously represented it from 2005 to 2007. He was re-elected with 57% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+1.
Republican primary
Fitzpatrick was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Democratic primary
Research scientist and business owner Shaughnessy Naughton and United States Army Ranger Kevin Strouse ran for the Democratic Party nomination.
District 9
The 9th district is located in South Central Pennsylvania and includes Cambria, Blair, Huntingdon, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, Somerset, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties. The incumbent is Republican Bill Shuster, who has represented the district since 2001. He was re-elected with 62% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+10.
Republican primary
Shuster, the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, anticipates a primary challenge from Republicans unhappy with his support for earmarks that bring projects to the district.
Candidates
Democratic primary
Mental health professional, author, environmental activist and co-founder of the Earth Rights Institute Alanna Hartzok was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.
District 10
The 10th district is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and includes Monroe, Pike, Lackawanna, Wayne, Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Sullivan, Lycoming, Union, Columbia, Snyder, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry counties. The incumbent is Republican Tom Marino, who has represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected with 66% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+12.
Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko considered challenging Marino in the Republican primary, but decided against it. Marino was unopposed in the Republican primary. He faces Democrat Scott Brion, a businessman and energy industry executive, who was also unopposed in his primary election. Former carpenter Adam Rodriguez had declared his candidacy for the Democratic primary, but withdrew before the filing deadline. Nick Troiano, a James Madison Fellow with the non-profit Millennial Action Project is running as an Independent.
Polling
District 11
The 11th district is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and includes Wyoming, Luzerne, Columbia, Carbon, Northumberland, Dauphin, Perry and Cumberland counties. The incumbent is Republican Lou Barletta, who has represented the district since 2011. He was re-elected with 59% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+6.
Barletta was unopposed in the Republican primary. He faces Democrat Andrew Ostrowski, a civil rights attorney and former Susquehanna Township attorney, who was also unopposed in his primary election. Former U.S. Representative Chris Carney, a Democrat who represented the 10th district from 2007 to 2011, and Gene Stilp, a political activist who was the Democratic nominee for the seat in 2012, considered running but decided not to.
District 12
The 12th district is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania and includes all of Beaver County and parts of Allegheny, Cambria, Lawrence, Somerset and Westmoreland counties. The incumbent is Republican Keith Rothfus, who has represented the district since 2013. He was elected with 52% of the vote in 2012, defeating Democratic incumbent Mark Critz. The district has a PVI of R+9.
Rothfus was unopposed in the Republican primary. Critz declined a rematch to run for lieutenant governor. John Hugya, former Chief of Staff to late U.S. Representative John Murtha, and psychologist and businesswoman Erin McClelland sought the Democratic nomination.
District 13
The 13th district is located in Southeastern Pennsylvania, covering eastern Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia. The incumbent is Democrat Allyson Schwartz, who has represented the district since 2005. She was re-elected with 69% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+13.
Schwartz did not run for re-election. She is instead ran for Governor of Pennsylvania.
Candidates
Polling
Candidates
District 14
The 14th district includes the entire city of Pittsburgh and parts of surrounding suburbs. The incumbent is Democrat Michael F. Doyle, who has represented the district since 2003, and previously represented the 18th district from 1995 to 2003. He was re-elected with 77% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of D+15.
Democratic primary
In the Democratic primary, Doyle faced Janis C. Brooks, a pastor and the CEO and founder of Citizens to Abolish Domestic Apartheid, who had run against him in 2012.
Republican primary
Ken Peoples, the chairman of the White Oak Republican Committee, had declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination, but was removed from the ballot for collecting insufficient ballot petition signatures. He subsequently ran a write-in campaign for the Republican nomination in the State House's 35th Legislative District. Bob Howard, a former candidate for Allegheny County Controller in 2011, ran a write-in campaign for the Republican nomination. Howard would need 1,000 certified write-in votes to be nominated. At least 1,498 Republican write-in votes were recorded in the district, but certifying them would take several weeks.
District 15
The 15th district is located in Eastern Pennsylvania and includes Lehigh County and parts of Berks, Dauphin, Lebanon and Northampton counties. The incumbent is Republican Charlie Dent, who has represented the district since 2005. He was re-elected with 57% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+2.
Dent was unopposed in the Republican primary and did not face a Democratic opponent in the general election as none filed before the deadline. David A. Clarke had considered running, but decided against it. Rick Daugherty, chairman of the Lehigh County Democratic Party and the nominee for the seat in 2012, declined a re-match because of "family and professional responsibilities". He is instead considering running in 2016.
District 16
The 16th district is located in Southeastern Pennsylvania, just west of Philadelphia and includes a large portion of southern Chester County, most of Lancaster County and a sliver of Berks County, including the city of Reading. The incumbent is Republican Joe Pitts, who has represented the district since 1997. He was re-elected with 55% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+4.
Republican primary
Pitts was unopposed in the Republican primary.
Democratic primary
Two Democrats ran for their party's nomination: former State Representative Tom Houghton and stem cell researcher Raja Kittappa.
District 17
The 17th district is located in Eastern Pennsylvania and includes Schuylkill, Carbon, Monroe, Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. The incumbent is Democrat Matt Cartwright, who has represented the district since 2013. He was elected in 2012, defeating incumbent Democrat Tim Holden in the primary with 57% of the vote and winning the general election with 60% of the vote. The district has a PVI of D+4.
Democratic primary
Cartwright was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Republican primary
For the Republicans, sports car racing team owner Matt Connolly, charter pilot Matthew Dietz and Schuylkill County coroner David Moylan ran.
District 18
The 18th district is located in the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh and includes parts of Allegheny, Washington, Beaver and Westmoreland counties. The incumbent is Republican Timothy F. Murphy, who has represented the district since 2003. He was re-elected with 64% of the vote in 2012 and the district has a PVI of R+10.
Primary results
Murphy was unopposed in the Republican primary and did not face a Democratic opponent in the general election as none filed before the deadline.