Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District

Incumbent

Summer Lee

Assumed office: January 3, 2023

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Summer Lee (D).

As of the 2020 Census, Pennsylvania representatives represented an average of 765,403 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 707,495 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2024

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (April 23 Democratic primary)

Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2024 (April 23 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Summer Lee and James Hayes are running in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Summer Lee (D)
		James Hayes (R)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Summer Lee defeated Bhavini Patel in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Summer Lee	60.6	63,756
		Bhavini Patel	39.4	41,383

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source	Total votes: 105,139 (95.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Laurie MacDonald (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

James Hayes defeated Paul Bryant and Laurie MacDonald in the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on April 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James Hayes	100.0	33,130
		Paul Bryant (Write-in)	0.0	0
		Laurie MacDonald (Write-in)	0.0	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 33,130 (95.00% precincts reporting)
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2022

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Summer Lee defeated Michael Doyle in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Summer Lee (D)	56.2	184,674
		Michael Doyle (R)	43.8	143,946

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 328,620
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Donald Nevills (R)
• Stephanie Fox (D)
• Jake Webster (D)
• Bhavini Patel (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Summer Lee defeated Steve Irwin, Jerry Dickinson, Jeff Woodard, and William Parker in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Summer Lee	41.9	48,002
		Steve Irwin	41.0	47,014
		Jerry Dickinson	10.9	12,440
		Jeff Woodard	4.8	5,454
		William Parker	1.5	1,670

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 114,580
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Michael Doyle advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Michael Doyle	100.0	39,531

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 39,531
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2020

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Fred Keller defeated Lee Griffin and Elizabeth Terwilliger in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Fred Keller (R)	70.8	241,035
		Lee Griffin (D)	29.2	99,199
		Elizabeth Terwilliger (L) (Write-in)	0.0	0

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 340,234
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Lee Griffin advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Lee Griffin	100.0	41,313

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,313
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Fred Keller advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on June 2, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Fred Keller	100.0	87,886

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 87,886
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2019

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District special election, 2019

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Fred Keller defeated Marc Friedenberg in the special general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on May 21, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Fred Keller (R)	68.1	90,000
		Marc Friedenberg (D)	31.9	42,195

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 132,195
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic convention

The Democratic convention was canceled. Marc Friedenberg advanced from the special Democratic convention for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12.

Republican convention

Special Republican convention for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Fred Keller defeated Malcolm Derk, Stacy Garrity, Chris Hoffman, and Joseph Moralez in the special Republican convention for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on March 2, 2019.

		Candidate
		Malcolm Derk (R)
		Stacy Garrity (R)
		Chris Hoffman (R)
✔		Fred Keller (R)
		Joseph Moralez (R)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeff Wheeland (R)

2018

Results of 2018 redistricting

On February 19, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted a new congressional district map after ruling that the original map constituted an illegal partisan gerrymander. District locations and numbers were changed by the new map. Candidates were listed under Pennsylvania’s new districts, which were used in the 2018 congressional elections. Click here for more information about the ruling.

The chart below compares this new district with the old district that was the most geographically similar to it.

Old district	Prior incumbent	Prior 2016 presidential result	New 2016 presidential result
10th District	Tom Marino (R)	R+36.0	R+36.5

Not sure which district you're in? Find out here.

Click the box below to see how the new congressional districts compare to the ones in place before the redrawing.

Changes in Pennsylvania's congressional districts
New district	Prior district	Prior 2016 presidential result	New 2016 presidential result	Prior incumbent
1st District	8th District	R+0.2	D+2.0	Brian Fitzpatrick (R)
2nd District	13th District	D+33.6	D+48.0	Brendan Boyle (D)
3rd District	2nd District	D+82.8	D+83.9	Dwight Evans (D)
4th District	13th District	D+33.6	D+19.4	None
5th District	7th District	D+2.3	D+28.2	Pat Meehan (R)
6th District	6th District	D+0.6	D+9.3	Ryan Costello (R)
7th District	15th District	R+7.6	D+1.1	Charlie Dent (R)
8th District	17th District	R+10.1	R+9.5	Matt Cartwright (D)
9th District	17th District	R+10.1	R+34.0	None
10th District	4th District	R+21.5	R+8.9	Scott Perry (R)
11th District	16th District	R+6.8	R+25.8	Lloyd Smucker (R)
12th District	10th District	R+36.0	R+36.5	Tom Marino (R)
13th District	9th District	R+42.5	R+45.5	Bill Shuster (R)
14th District	18th District	R+19.6	R+29.0	Conor Lamb (D)
15th District	5th District	R+28.8	R+43.4	Glenn Thompson (R)
16th District	3rd District	R+26.1	R+19.9	Mike Kelly (R)
17th District	12th District	R+20.8	R+2.5	Keith Rothfus (R)
18th District	14th District	D+35.5	D+26.8	Mike Doyle (D)
Source: Daily Kos

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Tom Marino defeated Marc Friedenberg in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Marino (R)	66.0	161,047
		Marc Friedenberg (D)	34.0	82,825

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 243,872
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Marc Friedenberg defeated Judy Herschel in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marc Friedenberg	50.4	12,802
		Judy Herschel	49.6	12,606

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 25,408
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12

Incumbent Tom Marino defeated Doug McLinko in the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 12 on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tom Marino	67.0	39,967
		Doug McLinko	33.0	19,662

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 59,629
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2016

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Keith Rothfus (R) defeated Erin McClelland (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Neither candidate faced a primary opponent in April.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Keith Rothfus Incumbent	61.8%	221,851
	Democratic	Erin McClelland	38.2%	137,353
Total Votes				359,204
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

2014

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 12th Congressional District of Pennsylvania held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Keith Rothfus (R) defeated Erin McClelland (D) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Keith Rothfus Incumbent	59.3%	127,993
	Democratic	Erin McClelland	40.7%	87,928
Total Votes				215,921
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State

2012

See also: Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 12th Congressional District of Pennsylvania held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Republican Keith Rothfus beat out incumbent Mark Critz to win the district.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Critz Incumbent	48.3%	163,589
	Republican	Keith Rothfus	51.7%	175,352
Total Votes				338,941
Source: Pennsylvania Department of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

2010

On November 2, 2010, Mark Critz won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Tim Burns (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Critz	50.8%	94,056
	Republican	Tim Burns	49.2%	91,170
Total Votes				185,226

2008

On November 4, 2008, John P. Murtha won re-election to the United States House. He defeated William Russell (R) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John P. Murtha incumbent	57.9%	155,268
	Republican	William Russell	42.1%	113,120
Total Votes				268,388

2006

On November 7, 2006, John P. Murtha won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Diana Irey (R) and various write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John P. Murtha incumbent	60.8%	123,472
	Republican	Diana Irey	39.2%	79,612
	N/A	Write-in	0%	79
Total Votes				203,163

2004

On November 2, 2004, John P. Murtha won re-election to the United States House. He ran unopposed in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John P. Murtha incumbent	100%	204,504
Total Votes				204,504

2002

On November 5, 2002, John P. Murtha won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bill Choby (R) and various write-in challengers in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2002
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John P. Murtha incumbent	73.5%	124,201
	Republican	Bill Choby	26.5%	44,818
	N/A	Write-in	0%	9
Total Votes				169,028

2000

On November 7, 2000, John P. Murtha (D) won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Bill Choby (R) and James N. O'Neil (Reform) in the general election.

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 12 General Election, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John P. Murtha incumbent	70.8%	145,538
	Republican	Bill Choby	27.5%	56,575
	Reform	James N. O'Neil	1.6%	3,324
Total Votes				205,437

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Pennsylvania after the 2020 census

On February 23, 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled to enact a new congressional map. Over a dozen maps were submitted to the supreme court, including the map approved by the legislature. The court ultimately selected the Carter map in a 4-3 ruling, which was submitted by a group of Pennsylvania citizens who were petitioners in a redistricting-related lawsuit. Justices Debra Todd (D), Sallie Mundy (R), and Kevin Brobson (R) dissented. Spotlight PA's Kate Huangpu wrote that the map is "as similar as possible to the current congressional map, with nearly 90% of residents staying in the same district." This map took effect for Pennsylvania's 2022 congressional elections.

The state supreme court took authority over the redistricting process after Gov. Tom Wolf (D) vetoed the legislature's enacted map on January 26. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted to approve the initial map 110-91 on January 12, and the Pennsylvania State Senate voted 29-20 to approve the map on January 24. Following Wolf's veto, the authority for determining a new map initially rested with a lower court, but in a February 2 ruling the supreme court ruled that it would have control over the process to select a new congressional map.

How does redistricting in Pennsylvania work? In Pennsylvania, the statutory authority to draw congressional district boundaries is vested with the Pennsylvania General Assembly. These lines are subject to gubernatorial veto.

State legislative district lines are drawn by a politician commission. Established in 1968, the commission comprises five members:

1. The majority leader of the Pennsylvania State Senate appoints one member.
2. The minority leader of the Pennsylvania State Senate appoints one member.
3. The majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives appoints one member.
4. The minority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives appoints one member.
5. The first four commissioners appoint a fifth member to serve as the commission's chair. If the commission is unable to reach an agreement, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court must appoint a commission chair.

The Pennsylvania Constitution requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and compact. Further, state legislative districts should "respect county, city, incorporated town, borough, township and ward boundaries." There are no such requirements in place for congressional districts.

Pennsylvania District 12
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Pennsylvania District 12
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2018

On January 22, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state's congressional district map, finding that the map constituted an illegal partisan gerrymander. On February 19, 2018, the court adopted a remedial map for use in the 2018 election cycle. Pennsylvania Republicans filed suit in federal district court to prevent implementation of the new map. The district court dismissed the suit on March 19, 2018. State Republicans also petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to stay the state supreme court's order pending appeal. The court rejected this request on March 19, 2018. To learn more, see here.

2010-2011

This is the 12th Congressional District prior to the 2010 redistricting.

See also: Redistricting in Pennsylvania after the 2010 census

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission in Pennsylvania approved the GOP-proposed map. It was signed into law on December 22, 2001.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 12th the 143rd most Democratic district nationally.

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 59.4% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 39.5%.

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+17. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 17 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District the 60th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.01. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.01 points toward that party.

See also

• Redistricting in Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2024
• Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2022
• Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2020
• Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District election, 2018

External links

• GovTrack District 12

Footnotes

[show]

Pennsylvania's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Bob Casey (D)

John Fetterman (D)

Representatives

District 1

Brian Fitzpatrick (R)

District 2

Brendan Boyle (D)

District 3

Dwight Evans (D)

District 4

Madeleine Dean (D)

District 5

Mary Scanlon (D)

District 6

Chrissy Houlahan (D)

District 7

Susan Wild (D)

District 8

Matt Cartwright (D)

District 9

Dan Meuser (R)

District 10

Scott Perry (R)

District 11

Lloyd Smucker (R)

District 12

Summer Lee (D)

District 13

John Joyce (R)

District 14

Guy Reschenthaler (R)

District 15

Glenn Thompson (R)

District 16

Mike Kelly (R)

District 17

Chris Deluzio (D)

Democratic Party (11)

Republican Party (8)