Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district is located in the northeastern region of the state. It encompasses all of Wayne, Pike, and Lackawanna Counties; along with portions of Luzerne and Monroe counties.
The district had been anchored in Bucks County from the 1940s until 2018, even as most other districts in Pennsylvania changed drastically during that time frame due to population shifts and Pennsylvania's loss of seats in the House.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew the district in February 2018 after ruling the previous map unconstitutional due to gerrymandering. The 8th district was reassigned to the northeastern part of the state for the 2018 elections and representation thereafter. It is geographically the successor of the former 17th district, including the ancestrally Democratic cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre in the Wyoming Valley. Portions of the new 8th district also came from the old 10th district, including the more conservative counties of Pike and Wayne. Meanwhile, the Bucks County district was renumbered as the 1st district.
The district contains a mix of suburban and rural communities centered around the industrial hubs of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre that are predominantly white and working class. While a longtime Democratic stronghold, the Democrats in this region are populist-leaning, different from their counterparts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The district voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but swung for Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, the first time much of this area had voted for a Republican since the 1980s.
However, Democrats still dominate down ballot. It was one of five districts that voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 while being won or held by a Democrat in 2022. At the time it was also the most Republican-leaning district held by a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus based on the Cook Partisan Voting Index. The district has only elected a Republican to Congress three times since 1947, in the Republican waves of 1980 and 2010 and most recently in 2024 when current representative Rob Bresnahan narrowly ousted then-incumbent Matt Cartwright, a Democrat.
Recent election results from statewide races Year Office Results2008 PresidentObama 57% - 42% Attorney GeneralCorbett 52% - 48% Auditor GeneralWagner 65% - 35%2010 SenateSestak 52% - 48% GovernorCorbett 52% - 48%2012 PresidentObama 56% - 44% SenateCasey Jr. 59% - 41%2014 GovernorWolf 60% - 40%2016 PresidentTrump 53% - 44% SenateMcGinty 47.4% - 46.7% Attorney GeneralShapiro 53% - 47% Auditor GeneralDePasquale 52% - 42% TreasurerTorsella 53% - 41%2018 SenateCasey Jr. 52% - 46% GovernorWolf 57% - 42%2020 PresidentTrump 51% - 48% Attorney GeneralShapiro 52% - 45% Auditor GeneralDeFoor 49% - 47% TreasurerTorsella 48.29% - 48.26%2022 SenateFetterman 49% - 48% GovernorShapiro 54% - 44%2024 PresidentTrump 54% - 45% SenateMcCormick 51% - 47% TreasurerGarrity 53% - 44% Auditor GeneralDeFoor 52% - 44% Attorney GeneralSunday 51% - 45%
Composition
Lackawanna County (40) All 40 municipalities
Luzerne County (55) Ashley, Avoca, Bear Creek Township, Bear Creek Village, Buck Township, Butler Township (part; also 9th; includes Beech Mountain Lakes), Courtdale, Dallas Township, Dennison Township, Dupont, Duryea, Edwardsville, Exeter Borough, Exeter Township, Fairview Township, Freeland, Forty Fort, Foster Township, Franklin Township, Hanover Township, Harveys Lake, Hazle Township, Hazleton, Jackson Township, Jeddo, Jenkins Township, Kingston Borough, Kingston Township, Laflin, Larksville, Laurel Run, Luzerne, Nanticoke, Newport Township (part; also 9th; includes Sheatown and Wanamie), Nuangola, Penn Lake Park, Pittston, Pittston Township, Plains Township, Plymouth Borough, Plymouth Township, Pringle, Rice Township, Sugar Notch, Swoyersville, Warrior Run, West Pittston, West Hazleton, West Wyoming, White Haven, Wilkes-Barre, Wilkes-Barre Township, Wright Township, Wyoming, Yatesville
Monroe County (18) Barrett Township, Chestnuthill Township, Coolbaugh Township, Delaware Water Gap, East Stroudsburg, Hamilton Township, Jackson Township, Middle Smithfield Township, Mount Pocono, Paradise Township, Pocono Township, Price Township, Ross Township (part; also 7th; includes part of Saylorsburg), Smithfield Township, Stroud Township, Stroudsburg, Tobyhanna Township, Tunkhannock Township
Pike County (13) All 13 municipalities
Wayne County (28) All 28 municipalities
List of members representing the district The district was created in 1791.
1791–1793: one seat
Representative Party Years Congress Electoral history District first established March 4, 1791 William Findley Anti-Administration March 4, 1791 –March 3, 1793 Elected in 1791.Redistricted to the .
District eliminated in 1793 and replaced by the .
1795–1823: one seat
District restored in 1795.
Representative Party Years Congress Electoral history Thomas Hartley Federalist March 4, 1795 –December 21, 1800 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1794.Re-elected in 1796.Re-elected in 1798.Retired and then died. Vacant December 21, 1800 –January 15, 1801 John Stewart Democratic-Republican January 15, 1801 –March 3, 1803 Elected in 1800.Elected January 15, 1801, to finish Hartley's term and seated February 3, 1801.Redistricted to the . William Findley Democratic-Republican March 4, 1803 –March 3, 1813 Elected in 1802.Re-elected in 1804.Re-elected in 1806.Re-elected in 1808.Re-elected in 1810.Redistricted to the . William Piper Democratic-Republican March 4, 1813 –March 3, 1817 Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1812.Re-elected in 1814.Retired. Alexander Ogle Democratic-Republican March 4, 1817 –March 3, 1819 Elected in 1816.Retired. Robert Philson Democratic-Republican March 4, 1819 –March 3, 1821 Elected in 1818.Lost re-election as a Federalist. John Tod Democratic-Republican March 4, 1821 –March 3, 1823 Elected in 1820.Redistricted to the .
1823–1833: two seats
Years Congress Seat A Seat B Representative Party Electoral history Representative Party Electoral history March 4, 1823 –April 20, 1824 Thomas Jones Rogers Democratic-Republican Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1822.Resigned. Samuel D. Ingham Democratic-Republican Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1822.Re-elected in 1824.Re-elected in 1826.Re-elected in 1828 but resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. April 20, 1824 –December 9, 1824 Vacant December 9, 1824 –March 3, 1825 George Wolf Democratic-Republican Elected October 12, 1824, to finish Rogers's term and seated December 9, 1824.Also elected the same day in 1824 to the next term.Re-elected in 1826.Re-elected in 1828 but resigned to become Governor of Pennsylvania. March 4, 1825 –March 3, 1829 Jacksonian Jacksonian March 4, 1829 –October 13, 1829 Vacant Vacant October 13, 1829 –March 3, 1833 Samuel A. Smith Jacksonian Elected October 13, 1829, to finish Wolf's term and seated December 7, 1829.Re-elected in 1830.Retired. Peter Ihrie Jr. Jacksonian Elected October 13, 1829, to finish Ingham's term and seated December 7, 1829.Re-elected in 1830.Redistricted to the and lost re-election.
1833–present: one seat