Republicans in Philadelphia?!?!

[CountyTy90]

I was just on Wikipedia looking up the partisan make-up of the Pennsylvania House and Senate and almost fell out of my chair when I found out that there is a Republican House member from close to Downtown Philadelphia! John Taylor has represented the area since 1985.

Can someone give me some insight on this area and how it votes Republican?

How does it vote statewide/federally?

I still can't believe it!

[moderatevoter]

Phil could probably explain.

[free my dawg]

Yeah, Phil would probably know more about this than anyone here.

[J. J.]

His district is in the Caucasian section of the Northeast.  It is the "Great White Northeast" for a reason.

I think there are several Republicans from that section.  The former Speaker, Perzel, was from that section.  Up to at least 2000, there were a GOP House seats up there.

[CountyTy90]

Very interesting. Must be the only large city (save Staten Island) that has a Republican representing it in some way?

[smoltchanov]

Very interesting. Must be the only large city (save Staten Island) that has a Republican representing it in some way?

Houston? Dallas? Fort Worth? Phoenix?

[CountyTy90]

Very interesting. Must be the only large city (save Staten Island) that has a Republican representing it in some way?

Houston? Dallas? Fort Worth? Phoenix?

True, I was meaning in an "older" type city, Rust Belt city, Northeastern city, etc.

Even in the white sections in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, etc. you wouldn't find a Republican elected nowadays.

[Joe Republic]

Even in the white sections in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, etc. you wouldn't find a Republican elected nowadays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._McAuliffe

[Joe Republic]

Also, to answer the OP:

[Mr. Illini]

Even in the white sections in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, etc. you wouldn't find a Republican elected nowadays.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_P._McAuliffe

"He is presently the only elected Republican representing a significant portion of Chicago"

What a presence.

[Adam Griffin]

Congrats, Phil(adelphia)!

[Badger]

Also, to answer the OP:

That is one unapologetically gerrymandered district.

[Sol]

There are republicans in NYC besides Staten Island. On the federal level, Boro Park votes GOP by outrageous numbers due to the large Hasidic population, but that advantage is recent, is not true on the local level, and can go in the exact opposite way. Gravesend, Brighton Beach, and other segments of Southern/Southwestern Brooklyn vote GOP also, but in a less capricious manner and for more diverse reasons- Gravesend has a lot of Orthodox folks, Brighton Beach is more conservative, secular Russian folks who are very often Jewish, etc.

Queens has GOP areas also, and these, although smaller, are more reliable for the GOP. The only NYC city council seat outside Staten Island held by a pubbie is here. Most of the Republican voting here is a combination of Italian Olds+ Hasidim. 

There are GOP areas in most Northeastern cities on the Federal level. Of course, Philly has the most of any of them, but even Boston has a McCain precinct in Southie.

I suspect some of the GOP strength in Philly has to do with the city's historical Republican machine.

[J. J.]

Also, to answer the OP:

That is one unapologetically gerrymandered district.

They probably could have had two "close" districts in the area.

[Keystone Phil]

Yep, John is actually our party Chairman, too. He took over in 2013 as a compromise choice between two factions of the party after the old guard-backed Chairman resigned. I proudly had a chance to vote for him then. He was just re-elected on Wednesday.

First thing is first, here's a common error (represented in J.J.'s post): people think the area he represents is the Northeast. Now, it's true that he has a little bit of the NE especially after the last redistricting but his area is actually the area between the NE and North Philly: the River Wards. They're culturally like the Northeast and have many ethnic white (Dem) voters remaining but the demographics are rapidly changing. The Hispanic population is booming.  

Secondly, it's not that his district is Republican. The district doesn't vote Republican for any other office (except probably Mayor in 1999 and 2003). He has some GOP pockets - picking up a few more with redistricting -  but that's it. The district votes for John because of John: he's a beloved personal figure, has stellar constituent services and is a populist, law and order Republican. He even has some moderate tendencies on social issues. Taylor enjoys plenty of union support. It also helps that he was swept into office in 1984, a time when the Philly GOP was still relatively strong in local elections. He has obviously built up seniority so long time residents of the area and powerful interest groups would not dump him. In 2012, he managed to get 57%. This year, he isn't even opposed and this is even after he came out for liquor privatization and serves as the committee chair that controlled debate. For him to do that while representing his strong union district and still enjoy labor support and not get an opponent should tell you everything you need to know about his power.  

Now J.J. is right in saying that other districts "up in that section" have had Republican representation until recently. In 2000, we had five State Representatives (including mine). In the 80s, we had as many as six at one time (again, including mine. He was also a Speaker of the House, ousting Perzel) and a State Senator in the NE. A reminder: it was a different time locally and nationally for the party. As Sol mentioned, there could be credit given to the GOP machine that was historically strong here. That's no longer the case. Taylor has survived on his own political operation. Nowadays, John is our only Philly GOP State Representative if you don't count Montco's Tom Murt who has a few precincts in the Northeast.

By the way, we do have another Republican elected at the district level in the city: my former Councilman Brian O'Neill. He's been in office since 1980. His situation is very similar to Taylor's except with more of an emphasis on constituent services. It also helps that in Philly, district Council members are very strong. They're basically the Mayor of their district. He's consistently re-elected with around 60% of the vote in a strong Dem district.

Bottom line: Taylor can keep the seat as long as he wants it. When he retires though...

[RedSLC]

I've actually been able to draw like a 50-48 McCain PA state house district entirely within Philadelphia. There's a sizable number of GOP precincts in the northeast part of the city.

[Keystone Phil]

I've actually been able to draw like a 50-48 McCain PA state house district entirely within Philadelphia. There's a sizable number of GOP precincts in the northeast part of the city.

Yes, in my area of the Northeast mostly (the Far Northeast) and parts of a little further south (the 64th Ward parts of Mayfair/Lexington Park/Winchester Park).

[CountyTy90]

a time when the Philly GOP was still relatively strong in local elections.

It would be really interesting to see maps through the years of how parts of the city voted (and other cities, I would love to see how Chicago voted in the 70's and 80's).

Great post! However, as you can see there are a few more Republicans in cities than I thought.

Maybe I need to do a little research next time.

[Badger]

If you know, Phil, what was Obama's vote in the district last time? How about Toomey's?

[Keystone Phil]

If you know, Phil, what was Obama's vote in the district last time? How about Toomey's?

Well, are we talking the most recent district (which was what was around in both elections) or the new district lines effective this election? Either way, I don't know the exact breakdown (though I'm very curious to see how we actually stack up especially in the new district) but Obama and Sestak definitely broke 60% in both the old and new districts. I have no doubt about that.

[Badger]

If you know, Phil, what was Obama's vote in the district last time? How about Toomey's?

Well, are we talking the most recent district (which was what was around in both elections) or the new district lines effective this election? Either way, I don't know the exact breakdown (though I'm very curious to see how we actually stack up especially in the new district) but Obama and Sestak definitely broke 60% in both the old and new districts. I have no doubt about that.

That's right, the district lines wouldn't have been the same in 2010, duh.

Bottom line, over 60%. Yeah, that's gone when he retires I'd bet.