The new 16th congressional district encompasses all of Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties and part of Venango County.

Following the 2020 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania lost one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving it with 17 districts.

As lines shifted to make up for the one missing seat, Butler County found itself with one representative covering the entire county.

The new district map was approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Feb. 23 and goes into effect in January.

The 15th District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, and the 17th District, currently held by Conor Lamb, will no longer represent any part of the county. The 16th District covers the entirety of it.

Running for his 7th term in the U.S. House of Representatives and to represent Butler County and rest of the 16th district, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is touting the Republican Party's platform of economic growth, energy independence, public safety and other goals.

Kelly recently met with members of the Butler Eagle editorial department to discuss his reelection campaign. He is facing Dan Pastore, a Democrat and business owner from Erie in the race to represent the district that encompasses Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties. The election is Nov. 8.

“We've got to make sure domestic energy is back in place,” Kelly said.

He said the country has a supply of natural resources that will last for hundreds of years.

“America has a gift from God,” Kelly said.

The party platform calls for maximizing production of domestic energy resources and streamlining the permitting process to reduce reliance on other countries and lowering the cost of gasoline and utilities.

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Erie businessman and attorney Dan Pastore said he wants to serve all citizens of the 16th district equally and end the extreme political partisanship that he says incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of Butler embraces.

Pastore, a Democrat, is challenging Kelly in the Nov. 8 election, hoping to end the Republican's six-term incumbency.

In a recent meeting with members of the Butler Eagle editorial department, Pastore said that Kelly tried to disenfranchise district constituents by filing lawsuits to challenge the state's mail-in voting law and to decertify the state’s vote in the 2020 presidential election. He said Kelly, as late as this year’s primary, has continued to support the claim that former President Donald Trump won reelection in 2020.

Read more: https://www.butlereagle.com/20221022/pastore-says-partisan-politics-is-ripping-the-country-apart/