Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

President Donald Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement and recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have gained national and local attention. This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick look into the public's reaction to these raids.

Larry O’Donnell, a 15-year borough resident, was appointed to fill a council vacancy through the end of the year.

The U.S. Senate could vote on the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act this week. If passed, millions of Americans would lose access to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in order to fund border security and tax cuts to wealthy Americans.

The emergence of the gig economy has altered the American workforce and created questions about what benefits and protections independent contractors should have under federal law. U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, discussed that during the roundtable.

Bill Bachenberg is a major supporter of President Trump and co-owner of Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays in North Whitehall Township. A former board member, he recently became president of the National Rifle Association.

Federal immigration officials on Friday issued their first statement since arresting 17 people at the Five10 Flats on June 11. Mayor J. Williams Reynolds this week described the arrests as "an American tragedy."

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, got an earful from a constituent Saturday after he accused protesters of feeding a charged political environment that's led to assassinations.

Emrick Boulevard in Bethlehem Township hosted the first of four rallies organized in the Lehigh Valley to coincide with a military parade in Washington, D.C., on Trump's 79th birthday. At least one physical confrontation occurred.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie voted in line with the Republican majority to strip more than $1 billion of federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two years.

Ryan Crosswell, a recent arrival in the Lehigh Valley, is the third Democrat to get in line to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. The seat should be one of the most contested U.S. House races in the 2026 midterms.

Critics of the new maps, like Victor Martinez, say they reduced the number of Latinos in some districts.

The state Supreme Court now will make the ultimate decision on congressional seat boundary lines.

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission approved the updated maps 4-1 and now the public will weigh in on the maps.

Sen. Lisa Boscola condemns the changes, calls process 'back-room assault on the Lehigh Valley."

The 2022 election could prove to be the most expensive the state has ever seen.

The ACLU filed suit in federal court on behalf of five voters who did not date their ballots.

The deadline to apply is May 10, even with a battle looming in the state Supreme Court.

Gov. Tom Wolf has pledged to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

None of the 4 candidates received the two-thirds of the committee's votes required.

Unlike past years, the public has been offering comments that have been incorporated in the redistricting process.

There has never been a Black member of Bethlehem City Council. Lee has run six times.

Both the senator and the candidate believe Pennsylvania will play a pivotal role in the 2022 midterm election.