CQ Risk Rating: Safe Republican 
| GENERAL ELECTION: NOVEMBER 7, 2000 |
|
| Curt Weldon (R) | 172,569 | 65% |
| Peter A. Lennon (D) | 93,687 | 35% |
| PRIMARY ELECTION: APRIL 4, 2000 |
|
| | Votes | Percentage | | Democratic |
| Peter A. Lennon | 10,785 | 100% |
| | Republican |
| Curt Weldon | 44,672 | 100% |
Source: Congressional Quarterly. To suggest updates and corrections: politics.feedback@cq.com
Major Industry | Population | Cities | People | Race | Median Household Income | Unusual Features
PENNSYLVANIA 7
:
Suburban Philadelphia - Part of Delaware County
Located west of Philadelphia, the 7th takes in vast tracts of
middle-class suburbia, including most of Delaware County and a small portion
of Montgomery and Chester counties. The district is known as a Republican
machine, and its conservative voting record makes the 7th an important stop
for statewide and presidential GOP candidates. That's why local Republican
officials swallowed hard when Clinton won Delaware County in 1992 and went
on to win the whole district in 1996. But, at the same time, the 7th's
voters sent a Republican senator and representative to Congress.
The district attracted significant economic growth in the 1990s. Its
defense industry, driven by Lockheed Martin and Boeing, is a large employer,
as are the pharmaceutical and high-tech sectors. The area's new
developments, many of which are springing up in the less populated areas of
Chester County, are attracting Philadelphia residents.
Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County has been expanding rapidly
since the opening of the Blue Route, a highway linking Interstate 95, along
the Delaware River, with the Schuylkill Expressway near King of Prussia.
Closer to Philadelphia, older suburbs such as Norwood, Ridley Park and
Upper Darby are mostly white and working class. Marcus Hook, an old refinery
town along the Delaware River, also fits that description. Nearby Chester,
and its black population, is in the 1st.
Major Industry
Health care, pharmaceuticals, defense
Population
565,815 (1990)
Cities
Drexel Hill (unincorporated), 29,744 (1990); Radnor (unincorporated), 29,543
(1997); King of Prussia (unincorporated), 18,406 (1990)
People
95% urban; 15% age 65+ (ranks 12 of 21 in state; top third nationally);
60% married couples, 26% married couples with children; 31% college educated
(ranks second of 21 in state; top third nationally); 71% white collar (ranks
second of 21 in state; top third nationally), 19% blue collar (ranks 18 of
21 in state; bottom third nationally) (1990)
Race
94% white, 4% black, 2% Asian; 1% Hispanic origin (1990)
Median Household Income
$41,710 (ranks third of 21 in state; top third nationally) (1990)
Unusual Features
Thomas Massey House, one of the state's oldest English Quaker homes; King of
Prussia Mall, largest East Coast shopping center.
Source: Congressional Quarterly (Updated April 1999)
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District 7
