BETHLEHEM, Pa. - LehighValleyNews.com will host a debate between the candidates running for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Susan Wild and Republican challenger Lisa Scheller.
The event is the second and final face-to-face meeting between the two candidates before the 2022 midterm election. It will take place Friday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., at the Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem.
The debate will be televised live on PBS39 and be simulcast on 91.3 WLVR — media outlets that like LehighValleyNews.com are part of Lehigh Valley Public Media.
The live debate will take place in front of a limited studio audience. C-SPAN also has plans to take the feed and telecast it nationally.
The debate will be moderated by two news industry veterans — Jen Rehill, LehighValleyNews.com's Director of News, and reporter Tom Shortell, who covers all things politics for the new platform. They will pose questions to the candidates focused on the big issues impacting communities across the region.
- Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild and Republic challenger Lisa Scheller will debate on Oct. 21 at the Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem
- It's a rematch from 2020, when Wild beat Scheller by nearly 14,000 votes
- Redistricting has added Carbon County to PA 7, and political analysts believe the district now favors Republicans
It will also be livestreamed on LehighValleyNews.com's Facebook page, with live updates online.
The high-stakes race is a rematch in a redrawn district that now slightly favors Republicans, according to top political news sites and analysts.
The key change is the addition of Carbon County, where there are 21,586 registered Republicans and 15,504 registered Democrats as of Oct. 3, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Nearly 7,000 voters are registered as "other" in Carbon County, meaning they have no affiliation, are registered with the Green or Libertarian parties or have a label other than that of an officially recognized party.
In 2020, Wild beat Scheller, a former Lehigh County commissioner, by nearly 14,000 votes. But pundits say their rematch is a toss-up after Carbon was moved from the 11th District to the Lehigh Valley-based 7th in state redistricting.
The midterm election on Nov. 8 will determine which party controls Congress. According to FiveThirtyEight, Republicans are favored to take control of the House, while Democrats appear slightly favored to win the Senate.
The candidates held their first debate Thursday, October 6, as part of WFMZ-TV 69's Business Matters.
