Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 120

[[Pennsylvania House|]]	Aaron Kaufer R–Luzerne
Demographics	93.8% White 3.4% Black 2.2% Hispanic
Population (2011)  • Citizens of voting age	62,171 50,332

The 120th Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Luzerne County and has been represented by Aaron Kaufer since 2015. The district includes the following areas:

• Courtdale
• Edwardsville
• Exeter
• Exeter Township
• Forty Fort
• Jackson Township
• Kingston
• Kingston Township

• Luzerne
• Pringle
• Swoyersville
• West Pittston
• West Wyoming
• Wyoming

Representatives

Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
Prior to 1969, seats were apportioned by county.
Frank J. O'Connell, Jr.	Republican	1969–1978	Kingston	Ran for State Senate
Franklin Coslett	Republican	1979–1986	Kingston	Retired
Scott Dietterick	Republican	1987–1990	Kingston	Defeated for reelection
Phyllis Mundy	Democrat	1991 – 2015	Kingston	Retired
Aaron Kaufer	Republican	2015 – present	Kingston	Incumbent

During the 1990s, the district was predominantly Republican, especially in the towns of Kingston, West Pittston, and Shavertown. In recent years, the district has become increasingly Democratic. 57 percent of voters in the district are registered Democrats. It is a district that was carried by Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Barack Obama in 2008. However, Republican Tom Corbett won the district in his race for governor in 2010. In 2012, President Obama won 55 percent of the district electorate. In 2016, President Trump won the district. Kingston has been mostly Democratic since the late 2000s, West Pittston is now evenly split between the two parties, and Shavertown is only narrowly Republican now.

The current state representative for the district, lifelong Kingston resident Aaron Kaufer, is a Republican. He easily won his first election in November 2014 by a 56% to 44% margin over Democrat Eileen Cipriani of West Wyoming. Kaufer succeeded longtime Democratic representative Phyllis Mundy, who represented the district for 24 years before retiring in 2014.

The home seat of the district is Kaufer's hometown of Kingston, by far the largest municipality in the district.

Every representative that has served the 120th district has been a resident of Kingston.

Recent election results

PA House election, 2010:
Pennsylvania House, District 120

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Phyllis Mundy	10,153	52.98
	Republican	Bill Goldsworthy	6,154	32.11
	Libertarian	Tim Mullen	2,858	14.91
Margin of victory			3,999	24.52
Turnout			19,165	100

PA House election, 2012:
Pennsylvania House, District 120

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Phyllis Mundy	14,133	56.12
	Republican	Aaron Kaufer	11,050	43.88
Margin of victory			3,083	12.24	12.28
Turnout			25,183	100

PA House election, 2014:
Pennsylvania House, District 120

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Kaufer	9,514	56.01
	Democratic	Eileen Cipriani	7,472	43.99
Margin of victory			2,042	12.02
Turnout			16,986	100

PA House election, 2016:
Pennsylvania House, District 120

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Aaron Kaufer	18,843	67.85
	Democratic	Robert McDonald	8,929	32.15
Margin of victory			9,914	35.69	23.67
Turnout			27,772	100

References

• Cox, Harold (2004). "Legislatures – 1776–2004". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

External Links

• District Map from the United States Census Bureau
• Pennsylvania House Legislative District Maps from the Pennsylvania Redistricting Commission.
• Population Date for District 45 from the Pennsylvania Redistricting Commission.