Congressional District 8 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: 661,2052024 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

2024 results by constituent county

9 counties · 2 D · 7 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%	154,223	187,817	345,635
2020	R	−4.1%	159,785	173,525	336,758
2016	R	−9.1%	127,862	154,654	293,373
2012	D	+11.3%	147,896	117,466	269,531
2008	D	+13.9%	164,721	124,249	291,847
2004	D	+2.9%	140,306	132,340	275,724
2000	D	+8.5%	126,227	105,761	241,646
1996	D	+11.6%	106,431	81,637	213,779
1992	D	+4.2%	98,142	88,420	230,363
1988	R	−6.4%	94,252	107,221	203,422
1984	R	−12.3%	91,785	117,849	212,063
1980	R	−7.5%	91,318	107,196	211,976
1976	D	+7.8%	115,311	98,373	216,906
1972	R	−21.4%	83,428	129,539	215,086
1968	D	+11.1%	121,875	96,523	228,648
1964	D	+40.0%	166,152	70,783	238,237
1960	D	+14.1%	149,958	112,929	263,388
1956	R	−15.6%	101,721	139,345	241,930
1952	R	−7.5%	114,924	133,734	249,292
1948	D	+2.3%	108,154	103,274	213,568
1944	D	+3.7%	109,859	102,064	212,446
1940	D	+8.9%	139,897	117,049	257,778
1936	D	+14.9%	154,420	114,027	271,894
1932	D	+6.0%	86,368	76,370	165,619
1928	R	−0.6%	101,141	102,384	203,843
1924	R	−30.8%	34,341	74,179	129,255
1920	R	−27.6%	43,308	77,888	125,095
1916	R	−5.2%	32,978	36,731	72,474
1912	O	+26.4%	25,691	7,930	67,327
1908	R	−9.3%	31,430	38,133	71,820
1904	R	−26.9%	23,030	40,889	66,339
1900	R	−5.2%	30,613	34,114	67,245
1896	R	−14.2%	27,793	37,335	67,421
1892	D	+6.4%	26,025	22,773	51,205
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

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.

Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District in the Mid-Atlantic has, for decades, voted very close to the way the country has voted. Its margins are typically narrow, and the candidate who carries Pennsylvania 8th Congressional District more often than not also wins the national popular vote.

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.

Cite this page

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

Congressional District 8, Pennsylvania — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.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 345,635 votes cast, 154,223 went Democratic and 187,817 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 661,205 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

Demographics

Frequently asked questions