- Lead
- 10,190
- Total
- 27,778
- vs nation
- D+38.2
Pennsylvania 159th State House District
President margin by year
Place winner margin
President results by year
Modeled candidate-vote estimate on current district boundaries
- Lead
- 11,461
- Total
- 28,178
- vs nation
- D+36.2
- Lead
- 12,043
- Total
- 27,691
- vs nation
- D+41.4
- Lead
- 11,462
- Total
- 26,471
- vs nation
- D+39.4
- Lead
- 11,911
- Total
- 27,454
- vs nation
- D+36.1
- Lead
- 9,818
- Total
- 26,041
- vs nation
- D+40.2
- Lead
- 7,670
- Total
- 22,538
- vs nation
- D+33.5
- Lead
- 6,492
- Total
- 20,888
- vs nation
- D+22.6
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+36.7MIT Election Lab
- Population
- 62,1382024 5-year
- Population density
- 3,884 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
- Land area
- 16 sq miTIGER/Line
- Median household income
- $56,6922024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 40.3%2024 5-year
- Black
- 45.0%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 8.9%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+43.5 in 2016MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+59.6 in 1924MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- State House District 19, PA · twin score 93.9
presidential history
Party record book
Pennsylvania 159th State House District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Barack Obama2008
71.4%
19,615 votes · D+43.4 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2012 · 71.4%
Republican
Calvin Coolidge1924
78.1%
2,770 votes · R+59.6 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Theodore Roosevelt, 1904 · 71.2%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Joe Biden2020
19,688votes
69.9% of the vote · D+40.7 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · 19,615 votes
Republican
Richard Nixon1972
11,835votes
52.5% of the vote · R+6.6 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Ronald Reagan, 1984 · 10,782 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Hillary Clinton2016
+41.4pts D vs U.S.
Place D+43.5 · U.S. D+2.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · John Kerry, 2004 · +40.2 pts
Republican
Herbert Hoover1932
+35.4pts R vs U.S.
Place R+17.6 · U.S. D+17.8 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Calvin Coolidge, 1924 · +34.4 pts
Current officeholders
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
| Year | Vote lead | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | D | 62.0%16,572 | 38.0%10,172 | 26,744 |
With a 2024 presidential margin of D+36.7, this Philadelphia-area district ranks among the most reliably Democratic constituencies in the state legislature, reflecting the dense urban geography and demographics that characterize its electorate.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 43.5 points in 2016 and a Republican high of 59.6 points in 1924. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 4.0 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 36.7 points.
A population of 62,138, a 40% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $56,692 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State House District 19 and State House District 20.
The state-house districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
District research tools
Open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report → · Browse all comparisons →
Pennsylvania 159th State House District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/42159/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.