Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District (PA) — Elections 1876–2024

Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District, Pennsylvania: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted R+10%. Democratic peak: D+40 in 1964.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+10MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 661,1922024 5-year
Median household income: $70,4842024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 76.2%2024 5-year
Black: 6.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 13.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+40 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+31 in 1924MIT Election Lab

BRESNAHAN, Robert P., Jr.Congress 119 · Republican

−1 liberal

+1 conservative

Predecessors: CARTWRIGHT, Matt (2023–2025), CARTWRIGHT, Matt (2021–2023), CARTWRIGHT, Matt (2019–2021), FITZPATRICK, Brian K. (2017–2019)

Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).

2024 results by constituent county

5 counties · 1 D · 4 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−9.7%	154,221	187,812	345,627
2020	R	−4.1%	159,783	173,520	336,751
2016	R	−9.1%	127,860	154,650	293,366
2012	D	+11.3%	147,893	117,463	269,526
2008	D	+13.9%	164,718	124,246	291,841
2004	D	+2.9%	140,304	132,336	275,719
2000	D	+8.5%	126,225	105,759	241,641
1996	D	+11.6%	106,429	81,635	213,774
1992	D	+4.2%	98,140	88,418	230,358
1988	R	−6.4%	94,251	107,218	203,418
1984	R	−12.3%	91,784	117,846	212,059
1980	R	−7.5%	91,316	107,194	211,972
1976	D	+7.8%	115,309	98,371	216,902
1972	R	−21.4%	83,427	129,537	215,082
1968	D	+11.1%	121,873	96,521	228,644
1964	D	+40.0%	166,149	70,782	238,233
1960	D	+14.1%	149,956	112,926	263,383
1956	R	−15.6%	101,719	139,342	241,926
1952	R	−7.5%	114,923	133,731	249,287
1948	D	+2.3%	108,153	103,272	213,564
1944	D	+3.7%	109,857	102,062	212,442
1940	D	+8.9%	139,895	117,047	257,774
1936	D	+14.9%	154,417	114,025	271,889
1932	D	+6.0%	86,366	76,368	165,615
1928	R	−0.6%	101,140	102,382	203,839
1924	R	−30.8%	34,340	74,178	129,252
1920	R	−27.6%	43,308	77,887	125,092
1916	R	−5.2%	32,977	36,731	72,472
1912	O	+26.4%	25,691	7,930	67,325
1908	R	−9.3%	31,429	38,132	71,818
1904	R	−26.9%	23,029	40,888	66,337
1900	R	−5.2%	30,613	34,113	67,243
1896	R	−14.2%	27,792	37,334	67,418
1892	D	+6.4%	26,025	22,772	51,203
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Congressional elections · 17 Senate races

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year	Won	D %	R %	Total
2024	R	48.6%	48.8%	6,963,137
2022	D	51.2%	46.3%	5,368,021
2018	D	55.6%	42.7%	4,994,643
2016	R	47.3%	48.8%	6,051,856
2012	D	53.7%	44.6%	5,627,422
2010	R	49.0%	51.0%	3,977,661
2006	D	58.6%	41.3%	4,081,043
2004	R	42.0%	52.6%	5,559,105
2000	R	45.5%	52.4%	4,735,116
1998	R	34.8%	61.3%	2,957,499
1994	R	46.9%	49.4%	3,513,361
1992	R	46.3%	49.1%	4,802,410
1988	R	32.4%	66.5%	4,366,598
1986	R	42.9%	56.4%	3,378,226
1982	R	39.2%	59.3%	3,604,108
1980	R	48.0%	50.5%	4,418,042
1976	R	46.8%	52.4%	4,546,353

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

Irish

18.1%

Italian

15.7%

German

15.4%

Polish

11.0%

English

6.5%

American

4.6%

French

1.1%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 43.7 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.9%

85+

1.6%

2.7%

75–84

3.4%

6.0%

65–74

6.3%

7.5%

55–64

7.4%

6.3%

45–54

6.2%

6.1%

35–44

5.8%

6.2%

25–34

5.6%

4.3%

18–24

4.1%

7.6%

5–17

7.1%

2.5%

2.3%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$70,484

Congressional District 8 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 8$70,484

Pennsylvania$77,971

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

13.2%

Children face moderate poverty.

Children under 1819.0%

Working age (18–64)11.7%

Seniors (65+)12.2%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

86.7%

speak English only

Spanish8.5%

Other Indo-European3.2%

Asian & Pacific Islander1.0%

Other languages0.5%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

31.4%

Other Christian

4.8%

Methodist

3.4%

Mainline Protestant

3.1%

Pentecostal & Holiness

2.9%

Non-Christian

2.1%

Baptist

0.4%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 51.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Anchored by Scranton and Luzerne County, PA-08 has moved roughly 20 points toward Republicans since 2012, reflecting the broader realignment of working-class, non-college voters in the post-industrial Northeast.

The Democratic margin in Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District has rarely exceeded forty points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded thirty-one points. 2024 delivered the district to the Republican candidate by ten points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 76% non-Hispanic-white share, a 13% poverty rate, and a median household income of $70,484 — all within the broad national range.

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Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/4208/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania voted Republican by 9.7 points (R+10), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 345,627 votes cast, 154,221 went Democratic and 187,812 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.

When did Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania voted Democratic was 2012.

How many people live in Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania?

Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania has a population of 661,192 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania?

Median household income in Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania is $70,484 — below the national median of $80,734. The Pennsylvania state median is $77,971.

What is the political history of Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District delivered R+10 in 2024.

Key facts

U.S. Senate

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions