Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie led the field in political fundraising for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District over the past three months. Democratic candidates Ryan Crosswell and Bob Brooks were not far behind, each raising more than $300,000 over the same time period.

Three seats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court are up for retention elections this cycle. Typically a "mundane affair," as described by political scientist Chris Borick, these races now have a lot of eyes on them, with parties looking to flip these judicial seats in swing states.

Lehigh County executive candidates Josh Siegel and Roger MacLean met in a debate Wednesday night hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem. Siegel argued the next executive needs to have big plans for the office, where MacLean positioned himself as offering more stability.

Republican Roger MacLean and Democrat Josh Siegel are vying for a four-year term as Lehigh County executive. The winner in the Nov. 4 election will succeed Democrat Phil Armstrong, who cannot run again because of term limits.

Operations at Lehigh Valley International Airport have not suffered from the government shutdown to date, according to Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority officials. However, an increase in air traffic controllers calling out sick during the last shutdown spurred a deal in 2019.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure released a statement Tuesday explaining he would not take a loan to pay the county's bills during the state budget impasse. He urged legislators to adopt a budget and restore the flow of funds.

“We were looking for answers that aligned with our vision as an association for the work that we want to do in the district,” said Allentown Education Association President Leslie Franklin.

Lehigh Valley Political Pulse host Tom Shortell wants to hear from you. Readers are encouraged to submit questions through the link in the article. They may be addressed on a future episode of the program.

Political scientist Chris Borick joined Tom Shortell again this week to try to make sense of the government shutdown and what it all means.

Senate Democrats have refused to fund the federal government unless Republicans agree to extend tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Ryan Mackenzie supports the tax subsidies but echoed Republican demands that no deal can be struck until the federal government is funded.

Lehigh County election officials say they are more prepared for an onslaught of mail-in ballots than they were in the spring. But where you’ll be able to drop off your ballot is still up in the air.

Proceedings are scheduled to begin Tuesday in an election lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court by the Pennsylvania chapter of the NAACP.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A Commonwealth Court judge heard nearly 11 hours of testimony Monday in a fast-tracked lawsuit seeking to give voters more time to…

Members of the local LGBTQ community say they are unhappy with a voter referendum that would put their civil rights on the ballot.

The Pennsylvania Department of State released a report on this year’s presidential primary over the weekend … that includes recommendations for the November 3 general election – and a request for swift legislative action.

With less than 100 days before the general election, Northampton County is already preparing for election day -- and tens of thousands of mail-in ballots.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections has found credible evidence that an Allentown judge of elections committed fraud and tampered with ballots during the primary on June 2nd.

Pennsylvania polls for the presidential primary closed Tuesday night, June 2. Counties were hit by a surge of mail-in votes this year. As WLVR’s Tyler Pratt reports, Northampton County ballots have been tallied, but Lehigh County is still counting.

The Associated Press has named Lisa Scheller the winner in the Republican primary race for the Lehigh Valley’s 7th congressional district. The GOP nominee will face incumbent Democrat Susan Wild for the seat in November.

Lehigh County sent out nearly 48-thousand mail-in ballots for this year’s primary election–more than election officials have ever tried to count on Election Day.

In yesterday’s primary, four wards in Allentown were consolidated into one voting location at Fearless Fire Company. And as WLVR’s Tracy Yatsko reports, complications around that meant the site opened late for in-person voting.

President Donald Trump announced his plans for a stop in the Lehigh Valley on Twitter yesterday. He’ll visit a medical supply warehouse in Upper Macungie Township on Thursday.