A Breakdown of Pennsylvania’s New Legislative Maps

On December 16th, the legislative reappointment commission unveiled new proposed maps for the state's House and Senate map. The commission comprises the four leaders of each party in the house and senate and a nonpartisan chairperson whom the Pennsylvania Supreme Court selected. The chosen maps will be the legislative seats for the next ten years. 

View the new maps here. 

Mark Nordenberg, the chairperson of the commission, began the meeting by discussing the commission's process and how he worked with the different legislative leaders on their maps. He emphasized how the process was on a tight schedule during his opening remarks due to the late release of U.S census data. Each legislative member was able to offer comments on the maps. 

The Republican Majority Leader Benninghoff felt that these maps were gerrymandering and expressed his dissatisfaction, calling the maps "partisan" and stating that they benefited Democrats. Democratic Minority Leader McClinton remarked that the maps were drawn reasonably and considered the growing minority populations across the state. 

The Senate maps passed 5-0 while the State House maps passed 3-2 with the two Republican members voting no. The state constitution gives a 30-day comment period to file comments. The commission then has 30 days to respond to the comments and make necessary changes. 

Mustafa Rashed of Bellevue Strategies, "This is the first step in creating fair and competitive maps in Pennsylvania. I am thrilled that the new maps also account for the growing minority populations across our state. Our firm looks forward to working with these new legislators who will bring a much-needed perspective to our General Assembly.”

Here are some initial takeaways from Bellevue Strategies: 

State House Maps 

• The new maps in the State House include seven minority opportunity districts where there is no incumbent advantage. 

  • District 9 located in Philadelphia 

  • District 22 located in Lehigh County 

  • District 54 located in Montgomery county 

  • District 104 located in Harrisburg 

  • District 116, Luzerne County  

  • District 203 Located in Philadelphia 

• The maps include some incumbent members having to primary each other. This includes 14 Republican members and 2 Democratic members. 

• The city of Allentown is divided into three districts instead of two due to its growing population.

• Philadelphia, Lancaster, and Montgomery county gained a new seat 

Senate Maps: 

• There is a new minority influence district in Lehigh county that have no incumbent 

• There is one incumbent-on-incumbent primary between Sen. John Yudichak and Senator Lisa Baker. 

To find more in-depth analysis, please review the following literature:

• Pennsylvania Capital Star, Panel approves new Pa. legislative maps that leaves incumbents in the lurch

• The Philadelphia Inquirer, Is the new PA House map better for Democrats or Republicans. We tested it. 

• Spotlight, PA Democrats could make sizable gains in Pennsylvania legislature under proposed new maps 

• PENN LIVE, Preliminary maps of legislative districts impact midstate counties in unexpected way 

Bellevue Strategies will keep you updated as the process unfolds. If you are interested in submitting a public comment on the proposed maps, please reach out to Julie Platt at Julie@bellevuestratgies.com.