Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district is located in southwestern

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, ...

, which includes Pittsburgh and much of Allegheny County. It has been represented since January 3, 2023 by

Summer Lee Summer Lynn Lee (born November 26, 1987) is an American politician and community organizer serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Lee served as a member of t ...

. Prior to 2018, the 12th district was located in southwestern Pennsylvania, and included all of Beaver County, and parts of Allegheny,

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, Lawrence,

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, and Westmoreland Counties. 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 this and other state congressional districts in February 2018 after ruling the previous map unconstitutional due to partisan

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

. The new 12th district covers much of the old 10th district. The old 12th district was redrawn to an area north and west of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and renamed the 17th district, for the 2018 elections and representation thereafter. Before the 2011 round of redistricting, the 12th district was widely considered to be

gerrymandered In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

by the Republican-controlled state legislature as a heavily Democratic district. It consisted of all of Greene County, and parts of Allegheny,

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, ...

, Fayette,

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Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and Westmoreland Counties.

Geography 2003–2013

Located in southwestern Pennsylvania, the 12th district consisted of all of Greene County, and parts of Allegheny,

, Fayette,

, and Westmoreland Counties. A thoroughly unionized district, the 12th was historically among the most Democratic areas of the state. However, the Democrats in this area were not as liberal as their counterparts in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and

. Most were somewhat conservative on social issues, particularly abortion and gun control. The 12th included all of Greene County, a highly rural region that still has a traditionally Democratic influence due to its labor leanings. In Washington county, the city of

, a large and Democratic edge suburb of Pittsburgh was a part of the 12th, as well as the eastern portion of the county. Most of the

Monongahela Valley The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-cen ...

region, a very Democratic area that was once an important steel-making area, was also part of the 12th. However, more rural western Washington County and the suburban northern portion of the county (with towns like McDonald and

Canonsburg Canonsburg is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town lies in a rich coal distri ...

) then belonged to the 18th. The western portion of Fayette County, including the city of Uniontown, a labor Democratic stronghold was part of this district, while the rural mountainous eastern portion was a part of the 9th. The 12th district continued eastward, including southeastern and northeastern parts of Westmoreland County, including the labor Democratic city of Latrobe, while leaving the suburban western part of the county (with towns such as Murrysville) and the generally left-leaning city of Greensburg in the 18th. The major population base of the district was located just to the east, taking in most of Somerset and Cambria counties. This area, the heart of a large coal-mining region, includes the district's largest city, Johnstown. The 12th also contained a part of Indiana County, mainly the college town of

. The 12th completed its wrap around the metro Pittsburgh region by ending in the northeastern corner of the city's suburbs, containing middle class regions such as Lower Burrell and the working class suburb of New Kensington. A portion of Armstrong County was also included in the district, including several industrial suburbs such as Freeport and

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Demographics

History

After the 2000 census, the Republican-controlled state legislature radically altered the 12th in an effort to get more Republicans elected from traditionally heavily Democratic southwestern Pennsylvania. A large chunk of the old 20th district was incorporated into the 12th. In some parts of the western portion of the district, one side of the street is in the 12th while the other side of the street is in the 18th district (the reconfigured 20th). This led to criticism that the 12th was a

gerrymander In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

intended to pack as many of southwestern Pennsylvania's heavily Democratic areas as possible into just two districts—the 12th and the Pittsburgh-based . Prior to the 2012 redistricting, the district has a

Cook Partisan Voting Index The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...

score of R+1. The district is notable as the only congressional district in the nation that voted for Democratic presidential candidate

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

but went for

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two te ...

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. This is mainly due to the fact that since 2000 Southwestern Pennsylvania has gradually become more Republican leaning.

2006 election

In the 2006 election, Murtha was re-elected with 61% of the vote. His

opponent, Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey, received 39%.

2008 election

John Murtha won the 2008 election with 58% of the vote. Murtha was a

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

and the first

Vietnam War veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

to serve in Congress. He defeated Lt. Col. William T. Russell, an army veteran.

2010 special election

Pennsylvania

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

scheduled a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for May 18, 2010, following the death of Representative John Murtha. On March 8, 2010, the

Pennsylvania Democratic Party The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in Harrisburg and is the largest political party in the state. Its chair is Senator Sharif Street. Governor Tom Wol ...

's Executive Committee nominated

Mark Critz Mark Stephen Critz (born January 5, 1962) is an American politician and former U.S. Representative for , having served from a special election in May 2010 until January 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district during his tenure ...

, Murtha's former district director. On March 11, a convention of Republicans from the 12th district nominated businessman Tim Burns. The Libertarian Party's candidate was Demo Agoris, who ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 48th district as a Libertarian in 2006. Mark Critz won the election.

2010 election

Mark Critz was re-elected in the regularly scheduled 2010 election; again beating Republican Tim Burns (this time with 51% of the vote against 49%).

2012 election

Mark Critz ran for re-election to a second full term in the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

, but was defeated by Republican challenger

Keith Rothfus Keith James Rothfus (born April 25, 1962) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. He succeeded Democratic Representative Mark Critz, whom he d ...

. Critz garnered 48.5% of the vote to Rothfus' 51.5%. The 12th had absorbed a large chunk of the old 4th district, including Rothfus' home, after the 2010 census, and was significantly more Republican than its predecessor.

2019 special election

After

Tom Marino Thomas Anthony Marino (born August 13, 1952) is an American politician and attorney, who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2019. He represented the from January 3, 2011 to January 3, 2019, and the from Janu ...

's resignation in January 2019, an election was held on May 21 to fill the open seat. Republican Fred Keller defeated 2018 Democratic nominee Mark Friedenberg.

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2012

2014

2016

2018

2019 special election

2020

2022

References

External links

Congressional redistricting in Pennsylvania
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Geography 2003–2013

Demographics

History

2006 election

2008 election

2010 special election

2010 election

2012 election

2019 special election

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

2012

2014

2016

2018

2019 special election

2020

2022

See also

References

Further reading

External links