Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district

Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district - since January 3, 2013.
Current Representative		Tim Murphy (R–Upper St. Clair)
Distribution	84.05% urban, 15.95% rural
Population (2000)	646,374
Median income	$44,938
Ethnicity	95.8% White, 2.0% Black, 1.3% Asian, 0.6% Hispanic, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% other
Cook PVI	R+6[1]

Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district includes parts of Washington County, Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties. Republican Tim Murphy has represented the district since 2003.

The district is concentrated in the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh. It is predominantly white and affluent, although it contains a diverse range of suburbs. It is drawn in such a way that in some locations, neighborhoods and even streets are split between the 18th and the neighboring 12th and 14th districts. In parts of the eastern portion of the district, one side of the street is in the 12th while the other side is in the 18th. In the west, one side of the street is in the 14th while the other side is in the 18th.

Although there are 70,000 more Democrats in the district than Republicans, the district has trended increasingly Republican since the mid-1990s; most of the district's state legislators are Republicans. The western portion of the district contains some rural regions of Washington County, as well as the very wealthy suburbs located in the northern portion of this county, such as Peters Township. This portion of Washington County tends to be more Republican than the portion contained in the neighboring 12th District. Many of Allegheny County's southern suburbs of Pittsburgh are located in the district, which range from traditional wealth areas such as Mount Lebanon and Upper St. Clair, middle class communities such as Bethel Park, Brentwood & Scott Township, and working class labor towns such as Elizabeth.

The district also winds along the eastern suburbs at the edge of Allegheny County, including most of the large suburban commercial center of Monroeville, and in western Westmoreland County. Central Westmoreland County, including the recently Democratic city of Greensburg, is also part of the district. Greensburg has not voted Republican since 1995, according to the Election Bureau. It also contains the rural foothills areas of the county, which are located at the district's eastern end.

List of representatives

Representatives	Party	Years	Electoral history
Patrick Farrelly	Jacksonian Republican	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	Redistricted from the 15th district Died
	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – January 12, 1826
Vacant		January 12, 1826 – January 13, 1826
Thomas H. Sill	Adams	January 13, 1826 – March 3, 1827	[Data unknown/missing. You can help!]
Stephen Barlow	Jacksonian	March 4, 1827 – March 3, 1829	Lost re-election
Thomas H. Sill	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1831	Declined renomination
John Banks	Anti-Masonic Party	March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1833	Redistricted to the 24th district
George Burd	Anti-Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1835	Redistricted from the 13th district
Job Mann	Jacksonian	March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837	Lost re-election
Charles Ogle	Anti-Masonic Party	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1841	Died
	Whig	March 4, 1841 – May 10, 1841
Vacant		May 10, 1841 – June 28, 1841
Henry Black	Whig	June 28, 1841 – November 28, 1841	Died
Vacant		November 28, 1841 – December 21, 1841
James M. Russell	Whig	December 21, 1841 – March 3, 1843	Declined renomination
Andrew Stewart	Whig	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1849	Declined renomination
Andrew J. Ogle	Whig	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	Lost re-election
John L. Dawson	Democratic	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	Redistricted to the 20th district
John McCulloch	Whig	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	Declined renomination
John R. Edie	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	Declined renomination
	Republican	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Samuel S. Blair	Republican	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1863	Lost re-election
James T. Hale	Independent Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865	Redistricted from the 15th district
Stephen F. Wilson	Republican	March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1869	Appointed judge of the fourth judicial district of Pennsylvania
William H. Armstrong	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	Lost re-election
Henry Sherwood	Democratic	March 4, 1871 – March 4, 1873	Lost re-election
Sobieski Ross	Republican	March 4, 1873 – March 4, 1875	Redistricted to the 16th district
William Stenger	Democratic	March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879	Lost re-election
Horatio G. Fisher	Republican	March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883	Declined renomination
Louis E. Atkinson	Republican	March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1893	Withdrew from election
Thaddeus M. Mahon	Republican	March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1903	Redistricted to the 17th district
Marlin E. Olmsted	Republican	March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1913	Redistricted from the 14th district
Aaron S. Kreider	Republican	March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1923	Lost re-election
Edward M. Beers	Republican	March 4, 1923 – April 21, 1932	Died
Vacant		April 11, 1932 – November 8, 1932
Joseph F. Biddle	Republican	November 8, 1932 – March 3, 1933	Declined renomination
Benjamin K. Focht	Republican	March 4, 1933 – March 27, 1937	Died
Vacant		March 27, 1937 – May 11, 1937
Richard M. Simpson	Republican	May 11, 1937 – January 3, 1945	Redistricted to the 17th district
John C. Kunkel	Republican	January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1951	Redistricted from the 19th district
Walter M. Mumma	Republican	January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953	Redistricted to the 16th district
Richard M. Simpson	Republican	January 3, 1953 – January 7, 1960	Redistricted from the 17th district Died
Vacant		January 7, 1960 – April 26, 1960
Douglas H. Elliot	Republican	April 26, 1960 – June 19, 1960	Died
Vacant		June 19, 1960 – November 8, 1960
J. Irving Whalley	Republican	November 8, 1960 – January 3, 1963	Redistricted to the 12th district
Robert J. Corbett	Republican	January 3, 1963 – April 25, 1971	Redistricted from the 29th district Died
Vacant		April 25, 1971 – November 2, 1971
H. John Heinz III	Republican	November 2, 1971 – January 3, 1977	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
Doug Walgren	Democratic	January 3, 1977 – January 3, 1991	Lost re-election
Rick Santorum	Republican	January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995	Retired to run for U.S. Senate
Michael F. Doyle	Democratic	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003	Redistricted to the 14th district
Tim Murphy	Republican	January 3, 2003 – Present	First elected in 2002

Historical district boundaries

2005 - 2013

See also

• List of United States congressional districts
• Pennsylvania's congressional districts

References

• 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

External links

• Congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 40°10′14″N 80°01′39″W / 40.17056°N 80.02750°W / 40.17056; -80.02750