PolitiFinder

1978 Pennsylvania U.S. House District 17 Election

Pennsylvania · 2 candidates · See every 1978 U.S. House race

Who won the 1978 Pennsylvania U.S. House District 17 Election?

Allen Ertel won the 1978 Pennsylvania U.S. House District 17 Election. Allen Ertel received 79,234 popular votes (59.64%). The main challenger was Thomas Richard Rippon (40.36%).

See the full head-to-head between Ertel and Rippon

Ertel +19.3 pts · won by 25,621 votes
Allen ErtelDemocraticWINNER59.64%
79,234 votes
Thomas Richard RipponRepublican40.36%
53,613 votes
Popular-vote totals for U.S. House elections come from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab (1976–2024).

Data last verified July 28, 2026.