Pennsylvania elects the most diverse assembly on a new map

When mapmakers reimagined the boundaries of Pennsylvania’s 253 legislative districts, they did it with an eye on the state’s growing racial and ethnic minorities, and officials say that has helped yield the most diverse incoming class of lawmakers yet.

The number of state lawmakers who are Black, Latino or of South Asian descent will rise as part of what House Democrats call the “most diverse class of freshmen legislators” in Pennsylvania history after candidates ran in this year’s election in the newly drawn map of districts.

Pennsylvania’s Legislature will remain disproportionately white, like nearly every other state’s, according to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures last gathered in 2020.

Pennsylvania’s once-a-decade-long process of redrawing districts to reflect demographic trends has had an even greater impact on diversifying the racial, and ethnic composition of the legislature than any other.

“I think that having a fair map made it possible for a more fair expression of the will of the people,” said state Sen. Sharif Street, the state Democratic Party chair.

Street also said that good candidates are important.

The state’s newly elected minority lawmakers are all Democrats, further deepening the disparity with Republicans who have long attracted fewer candidates or voters of color in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

According to Rep. Donna Bullock (chair of the Legislative Black Caucus), there are more Black, Latino, and Asian-American legislators than ever before. The caucus — which includes lawmakers who are Latino or Asian-American — will have more members than ever, rising from 31 to 37, she said.

The percentage of Black legislators is slightly higher than that of Black residents of Pennsylvania. Both are currently around 11%, even though Austin Davis and Summer Lee have left for higher offices.

Black candidates had particular success this year: Street became the first Black chair of the state party, Lee will become Pennsylvania’s first Black woman elected to Congress and Davis will become Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor.

The election, however, was mixed for Latinos: Their rapid population growth over the past decade in Pennsylvania — and several new districts designed to boost their electoral strength — did not translate into significant electoral gains in the Legislature.

There, the number of Latinos will rise from four to five, or just 2% in a state where Latinos make up 8% of Pennsylvania’s 13 million residents. Proportional representation would mean more than 20 seats.

Republicans were favored in the last two maps of Senate and House districts.

This time around, two particular aspects drove the discussion: the growth of the general population in liberal-leaning southeastern Pennsylvania and the growth of an underrepresented Latino population.

According to 2020 census data, Pennsylvania was one of only four states that lost population in the past decade, and this is despite Hispanic population growth.

For another, cities with big Hispanic populations — such as Reading and Lancaster — had been packed into a single House district.

The Senate’s makeup didn’t change, after critics say senators drew a new map of districts that disproportionately protected incumbents.

But, on the House map, the court-appointed chairman of the Legislative Reapportionment Commission, former Pitt chancellor Mark Nordenberg, moved districts across the state from low-growth to high-growth areas, added districts to cities with big Hispanic populations and drew seven incumbent-free districts that represent relatively large populations of minorities.

All in all, minority candidates won new districts in Philadelphia and Norristown and Reading, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Harrisburg.

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