Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

This week on Political Pulse, Tom and Chris talk about the outcomes of the general election — including Northampton County's significance in elections.

Since the start of the 20th century, Northampton County has backed the winning president all but three times. It lived up to its bellwether status again by narrowly backing President-elect Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in last week's 2024 presidential election.

Councilman Ed Zucal is set to be the first person to announce a challenge to Mayor Matt Tuerk's re-election bid.

None of the state House's 203 districts are changing hands in 2025. A race called on Friday for state Rep. Frank Burns, a Johnstown-area Democrat, gave Democrats a 102-101 margin and dashed Republican hopes of returning to control after two years in the minority.

After a polling place in South Bethlehem saw a six-hour wait to vote on Tuesday, Northampton County officials blame an unexpected jump in student turnout compared with 2020.

Beating U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is earth-shaking for Pennsylvania’s Democratic establishment. He's the state's longest-serving Democrat ever in the Senate. Casey had won six statewide general elections going back to 1996.

The Pennsylvania Senate contest between Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick was inside the automatic recount threshold on Thursday morning.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman challenged over 500 mail-in ballot applications of former Lehigh County voters. Coleman said in a text that he will pursue other ways to challenge how counties register voters living abroad.

State Rep. Joe Emrick won Pennsylvania's 137th House District in his battle against Democratic challenger Anna Thomas.

Unofficial results from the Pennsylvania Department of State show U.S. Rep. Susan Wild trailing Republican Ryan Mackenzie by about 1 percentage point in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District.

Northampton County Controller Tara Zrinski will run for county executive, she announced Friday.

Tina Cantelmi, who some may recognize from her art and local nonprofit work, will be running for a spot on Bethlehem City Council, she announced in a Thursday news release.

Supervisor Jeffrey Young says he won't run for re-election in 2025 and will serve out his term through the end of the year, ending over two decades of service to the community.

In his announcement, the Northampton County commissioner attacked the record of outgoing executive Lamont McClure.

Federal prosecutors dismissed criminal charges alleging Tighe Scott assaulted police outside the U.S. Capitol Building. The decision stems from President Donald Trump's executive order pardoning more than 1,000 people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and all ongoing dismissing ongoing prosecutions.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure will not run for a third term in office this year, he said Tuesday, touching off a wide-open race to replace him.

This week's episode of Political Pulse examines how politicians utilize digital spaces to communicate with voters here in the Lehigh Valley and around the country.

Trump overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House. He's expected to issue executive orders to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.

Robert “Bob” Smith Jr., 63, and Robert “Nick” Nicholoff, 29, will both seek spots on the Allentown School Board this election cycle. Both have board experience.

As a theater director in the Bethlehem Area School District and a lifelong resident of the city, Justin Amann says he intends to run for a seat on Bethlehem City Council.

In this week's episode, Chris Borick and Tom Shortell talk about the impending second inauguration of President-elect Donald J. Trump, which is a week away.

A Republican from Lower Macungie Township, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie swore to do right by those who elected him from across Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. Lehigh County Judge Melissa Pavlack officiated.