Rep.-elect Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., reacts to winning his race, Trump returning to the White House. the agenda of Republicans in the new Congress.
One of the nation’s most narrowly dividedswing congressional districtschose its Democratic nominee Tuesday evening. as Bob Brookswas projected to win in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District.
The contested primary brought Democratic Party divisions front. center, featuring firefighters union boss Bob Brooks — endorsed by both Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen.Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. — former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure. EMILY’s List-endorsed candidate Carol Obando-Derstine, who is seen as the preferred pick of the district’s last Democratic representative, former Rep. Susan Wild of Allentown.
Brooks received several high-profile endorsements from Shapiro, Sanders, Sen.Elizabeth Warrenof Massachusetts, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and top state Democrats, including House Majority Leader Matt Bradford of Skippack and Sen. Vincent Hughes of Northwest Philadelphia.
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The skyline of Allentown, Pennsylvania, the state's third-largest city, is visible from the Tilghman Street Bridge.(Charles Creitz)
Brooks also earned the endorsement of the mayor of the area’s largest city — Allentown. the third-largest city in the commonwealth.
Meanwhile, McClure — the only current local officeholder in the race — did not immediately gain traction against Brooks.
Brooks appeared to weather intraparty controversy after old social media posts expressing more moderate or conservative views resurfaced — including one using an off-color sexual term to describe former San Francisco 49ers quarterbackColin Kaepernickfor criticizing law enforcement during the BLM era.
FIRM THAT PROPELLED MAMDANI TO VICTORY IN NY LOOKS TO UNSEAT HOUSE GOP MEMBERS IN PA
Recent construction on Eighth Street in Allentown revealed an old-style campaign sign for Bill Heydt. the city's last Republican mayor who served from 1994 to 2002.(Charlie Creitz)
Crosswell was born in nearby Schuylkill County but for many years worked in Washington for the Justice Department. He was one of several prosecutors who resigned in protest of the Trump administration dropping a federal probe into former New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Adams has since become less critical of the right and has often dinged his successor,Zohran Mamdani, on social media.
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., attends the House Education. Workforce Committee hearing titled "Beyond The Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses" in the Rayburn Building on May 7, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The district’s tri-city hub of Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton — known locally as "A.B.E." or "The Valley" — has a blue-collarhistorythat has at times entered the national consciousness through Billy Joel’s famous anthem about Bethlehem Steel. other firms "closing all the factories down," while the now-blighted SteelStacks often serve as both a backdrop for what once was and a rallying call for politicians pushing what comes next.
That "next" has included a wave of new warehouses. firms dedicated tointerstate commerce, along with growth tied to the tech sector.
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Farmland in the northern part of the district is gradually being developed into homes. warehouses — to the chagrin of many longtime residents — as an influx of people from higher-taxNew Jerseyand New York, along with the area’s changing socioeconomic makeup, brings more liberal and progressive voters into a once "Reagan Democrat"-style region rooted in agriculture and union labor.
The former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces are seen from Pennsylvania Route 412 near Lehigh University's campus.(Charles Creitz/Fox News Digital)
The district’s current boundaries still reflect that contrast, as the farther north one travels, the more rural, agrarian or forested —. conservative — the area becomes. Wild drew criticism twice for appearing to insult the Trump-supporting swath of Carbon County. the only one of the district’s three counties entirely within the 7th Congressional District to vote for Mackenzie in 2024.
The Republican in the race, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie of Lower Macungie. was astate representativein western Lehigh County for many years before upsetting Wild by one percentage point in 2024.
Mackenzie has since drawn praise from PresidentDonald Trumpand criticism from the left, whose protesters often gather outside his office. spill onto busy Cedar Crest Boulevard in southwest Allentown.
As the House GOP’snarrow majority hangs inthe balance. it remains to be seen which side is energized enough to turn out for its candidate in a race the nation will be watching closely.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles coversmedia,politicsand culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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