Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

What can we expect from a second Donald Trump presidency? This week on Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick talk about Trump's plans for his second term.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, will close her third term in Congress on Jan. 3 after being defeated in the election by Republican Ryan Mackenzie. From the inside, Wild has been a witness to major swings in American politics in her six years in Washington.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey conceded to Republican challenger David McCormick on Thursday night. The Pennsylvania Department of State ended the automatic recount in the unusually close race since the result was no longer contested.

Join Megan Frank every Friday at 9:30am and 6:30pm for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week, Brittany Sweeney takes her place, joined by politics reporter Tom Shortell and Easton reporter Brian Myszkowski.

Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is conceding his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick. The concession came Thursday, more than two weeks after Election Day. A statewide recount is showing no signs of closing the gap and Casey's campaign has suffered repeated blows in court.

Northampton County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Dally heard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging the validity of about 200 provisional ballots. Similar cases are playing out across the state.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said the House Ethics Committee is split in deliberations over how to handle an investigations into former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz on allegations of sexual misconduct. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Gaetz to lead the Justice Department.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify 191,158 ballots Wednesday afternoon. Fights over how to count contested provisional ballots are already popping up in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick.

Northampton County's elections commission voted in a multi-day hearing to count provisional ballots missing certain signatures. Their decision has been challenged in county court.

Allentown City Councilman Ed Zucal officially kicked off his campaign for mayor Tuesday at Fairgrounds Hotel.

Pennsylvania officials are imploring voters to return their mail-in ballots now, and in-person at drop boxes - following a recent decision from the U-S Supreme Court that’s called into question the future of ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on Election Day - and whether they’ll be counted immediately.

With the election less than a week away, Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley are in the spotlight. Wednesday, Allentown was a stop on the democratic campaign trail for Doug Emhoff, husband of democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a quick, pre-election review on Wednesday to a new Republican appeal on mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania. The GOP sought to exclude votes received after Election Day. But the matter isn’t completely settled yet.

Voter registration for the presidential election topped nine million this year in PA, an all-time high.

President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally this morning in Allentown as part of a trio of stops today across the state as candidates head into a pitched battle for the swing state’s 20 electoral votes.

WLVR’s Community Correspondent Genesis Ortega spoke with Jose Rosado, the first Latino to be elected mayor in the history of Pennsylvania - in Fountain Hill. He says that getting even a third of registered Latinos to the polls could swing the election -- but that political parties need to do more to reach those voters.

Mail-in voters have until election day to cast their ballot, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is recommending voters do not wait, and where possible avoid using the mail.

Voter registration totals have reached a record high in Pennsylvania - and officials say they’re expecting record turnout on election day as well.

Nearly nine million voters have registered so far to cast their ballots in November, in person and by mail. But Pennsylvania officials say they’re still concerned about getting every vote counted on Election Day.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) is accusing the Trump Administration of hampering postal service deliveries. Casey says he has evidence of large containers of priority mail meant for the Lehigh Valley have been sitting for weeks in a Scranton postal facility.

Matt Tuerk is running for Mayor of Allentown 2021. He made the announcement via Facebook Live Tuesday afternoon.

American financial turmoil was front and center in the first debate between the Lehigh Valley’s candidates for the 7th congressional district.