BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Two years after the Lehigh Valley saw $30 million spent in its battleground congressional race, the candidates in this year's midterms already are on pace to top that record.
Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie and the four Democrats hoping to claim his seat have spent a total of $3.2 million this election cycle as of March 31, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.
"I expected it to be high, and this might be even higher than I thought."Christopher Borick, a political scientist at Muhlenberg College
They're all competing to represent Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, one of the country's few toss-up U.S. House races.
The seat represents all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties plus a sliver of Monroe County.
By comparison, the 2024 race saw Democratic incumbent Susan Wild and her three Republican challengers spend $1.7 million through the first quarter of that election year.
Mackenzie, a freshman lawmaker in Congress, is uncontested in this year's Republican primary but already has spent $1.1 million in his bid to defend his seat.
On the Democratic side, former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell leads the pack in political spending. His campaign has spent $916,552 since he entered the race last spring.
He's followed by firefighter union boss Bob Brooks ($502,664 in disbursements), energy engineer Carol Obando-Derstine ($415,266 in disbursements) and former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure ($215,704 in disbursements).
Christopher Borick, a political scientist at Muhlenberg College, said the jump in spending reinforces the Lehigh Valley's reputation as some of the nation's most coveted political real estate.
Mackenzie managed to flip the district two years ago in a hard-fought race during a competitive political cycle, Borick said.
Public polling shows Americans now are growing frustrated with President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, so Democrats may be motivated to step up their campaigns to win back PA-7 and potentially the House majority, he said.
"I expected it to be high, and this might be even higher than I thought," Borick said of the spending.
While campaign spending doesn't guarantee victory, better funding lets candidates more easily reach a wider swath of the electorate, Borick said.
Historically, candidates who find themselves being outspent by an order of magnitude struggle to compete against their flusher rivals, he said.
Ryan Mackenzie
Mackenzie, who previously represented parts of Lehigh County in the state House for over a decade, added $893,161 to his campaign coffers through the first three months of 2026, according to his campaign's 1,800-page report.
He had nearly $2.5 million on hand at the close of March.
The lion's share of Mackenzie's funds came from political action committees run by Republican members of the U.S. House.
Speaker Mike Johnson's Grow Our Majority PAC was Mackenzie's single largest backer this quarter, transferring $194,341 toward his campaign.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, transferred the Mackenzie campaign $66,893 more through his Emmer Majority PAC.
The Republican National Committee transferred the campaign $57,723 as well.
Technically, Mackenzie, a Lower Macungie Township, supported himself by donating to his main PAC from a second one. He transferred himself more than $37,000 from his Mackenzie For America PAC.
Donors to his secondary fundraising organ include former Bethlehem Steel Chief Executive Officer Hank Barnette ($1,000); Gary Iaccoca, owner of the Yocco's Hot Dogs ($1,000); and auto dealership owner Andrew Wright ($2,000).
Individual donors who contributed $200 or more to Mackenzie's primary PAC accounted for than $180,000 of Mackenzie's funding over the three-month period.
Notable donors include Hotel Bethlehem owner Bruce Haines ($1,000), former Emmaus area Magisterial District Judge Donna Butler and her husband Michael Butler ($2,500) and Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets and President Donald Trump's former ambassador to the United Kingdom ($158).
Poarch Creek Band of Indians, the Alabama-based tribe that owns Wind Creek Bethlehem Resort & Casino, contributed $7,000 to his campaign, as well.
The report did not include money Mackenzie raised from a fundraiser last week featuring Speaker Johnson, R-Louisana, as the headliner.
Prominent guests listed to attend the event included Liz and Dick Uhlein, the billionaire owners of the shipping materials company U-Line; Tony Salvaggio, founder of the Allentown IT firm Computer Aid Inc.; and Joe Topper, chair of the fuel distributor Cross America Partners. Topper also sits on Lehigh Valley Public Media's Board of Directors.
Ryan Crosswell
Crosswell led the Democratic field in fundraising last quarter with $479,808, according to his FEC report.
The majority of that came from large individual donors from across the country, records show. He had more than $715,000 on hand by the quarter's end.
Crosswell, a Marine and Pottsville native, initially struggled to attract donors from the Lehigh Valley. He launched his congressional campaign last year shortly after moving to Allentown.
His rivals have attacked him as an opportunist and carpetbagger, but the latest donor rolls suggest he's winning over some local voters.
While a significant portion of his financial backers remain out-of-district, Crosswell's prominent Lehigh Valley supporters last quarter include ArtsQuest founder Jeff Parks ($3,000) and former Rodale Chief Executive Officer Maria Rodale ($4,500).
Also, Lexus of Lehigh Valley Chief Operating Officer David Cooper ($3,500), developer and former Republican candidate for Allentown Mayor Nat Hyman ($1,000), Lehigh County Commissioner Dan Hartzell ($100) and Northampton County Commissioner Lori Vargo Heffner ($250).
Crosswell also is being backed by New Politics, a left-of-center political action committee that supports congressional candidates who have served in the military. The group transferred him $823 from a joint fundraiser last quarter.
Other than Hartzell's political action committee, the only other PAC to contribute to Crosswell's campaign was the American Association for Justice, formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. The group contributed $5,000 toward the campaign.
Bob Brooks
Brooks' fundraising nearly matched Crosswell's, collecting $423,221 in the first quarter.
About 60% of that total came from individual donors contributing more than $250. The Brooks campaign had almost $544,000 at the end of March, according to his FEC filings.
The campaign finance report shows Brooks, who has built his campaign around his working-class bona fides, appears to have successfully connected with white-collar donors through the early months of 2026.
His backers include Sarah Iselin, president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ($1,000); Guarav Kapadia, founder of the New York City investment firm XN ($7,000); and former Goldman Sachs partner Eric Mindich ($3,500).
Brooks drew financial support from donors closer to home, as well.
Lehigh Valley-based donors included Martin Guitar Chief Executive Officer Christian Martin ($3,500); Darrell Crook, former principal of Northampton Area Elementary Schools, and his wife Linda Crook ($7,000); and Jeremy Warmkessel, president of International Fire Fighters Association Local 302 in Allentown ($1,200).
Also, $79,000 came from political action committees, including groups associated with some of Brooks' high-profile endorsements.
They include U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland ($4,000), U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, ($5,000) and U.S. Rep. Chris Diluzio, D-Pennsylvania, ($1,500).
A PAC associated with U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pennsylvania, contributed $5,000 toward his campaign, but she has not formally endorsed Brooks.
Carol Obando-Derstine
There was a significant gap between the Mackenzie, Crosswell and Brooks and the rest of the field, with Obando-Derstine raising a total of $111,283.
Her campaign would have had two straight quarters in the red if not for a $20,000 loan and a $4,000 donation she provided her campaign. She entered April with $127,936 on hand.
Aside from the loan, nearly all of Obando-Derstine's funding came from individual donors.
Donors of note include former Lehigh Valley congressional candidate Greg Edwards ($500); Karen Cooper, the former owner of Lexus of Lehigh Valley ($3,500); and Lafayette College instructor Tara Gilligan ($3,500).
Obando-Derstine's PAC donations totaled $4,500. Of that, $2,500 of that came from Moms Fed Up PAC, which supports mothers running for public office.
The remaining $2,000 came from Square One Politics PAC. Square One Politics supports Democratic women, people of color and LGBTQ candidates running in districts with a history of Republican control.
Lamont McClure
McClure's campaign spent just $22,678 last quarter, but still lost money after raising only $20,166 over the same time period.
However, he still has $285,077 on hand as he entered the primary's home stretch. Most of that funding has derived from a $200,000 loan he floated his campaign last year.
Many of McClure's biggest donors have ties to his time in Northampton County.
His financial supporters include state Rep. Tim Brennan, D-Bucks, a former county solicitor ($1,000); former Northampton County solicitor Melissa Rudas ($500); and former Northampton County Executive Glenn Reibman ($500).
McClure raised $2,500 from political action committees, most of which stemmed from a donation by the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers PAC ($2,000).
A PAC associated with Roseto Borough Councilman Dan Engle provided the other $500.
