Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Voter turnout was about 23.74% among Democrats and Republicans in Northampton County — only slightly better than Lehigh County’s 22.5% voter turnout rate.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Unofficial results in Lehigh and Northampton counties suggest voters rallied around candidates for Northampton County Council and Lehigh County district attorney, among others.

Conservative Republican slates targeting LGBTQ issues and library books swept GOP primary races across three districts. Democrats and moderate Republicans who cross-filed landed victories on the Democratic ticket.

Six candidates were poised to move on to the general election for the Bangor Area School Board, eliminating half of the incumbents in the race.

The primaries winnowed the field for Pen Argyl Area School Board, but voters in Pen Argyl and Plainfield Township will have more decisions to make in November.

Northampton County Commissioner Tara Zrinski claimed victory in the Democratic primary for Northampton County Controller, setting up a general election fight with fellow commissioner John Cusick.

First-time candidate Cindy O'Brien won the Republican primary in the race for Bethlehem Area School Board.

Two of the three candidates supported by Moms for Liberty Northampton survived the primary, both being in Region I.

Tuesday's primary election set up a number of races for the fall general election. Here are capsules from Lehigh and Northampton counties.

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."

Political Pulse host Tom Shortell talks with Fabian Fellmann, a U.S. correspondent for a Swiss daily newspaper, about what brought him to the Lehigh Valley.

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.

For some candidates looking to hold office in Northampton County whose primary races ended with a tie, electoral fate rests with ping pong balls.

Political Pulse host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick discuss the implications of the Republican tax and spending package recently passed in the US House.

More than 120 people showed up for the weekly "Mondays with Mackenzie" demonstration outside one of the congressman's offices on Monday. It was the first of the protests since he cast an essential vote for President Donald Trump's signature policy bill.

Trump said he reached the decision after a “thorough review” of Jared Isaacman’s “prior associations" but did not elaborate. Said Isaacman: "I’ll always be grateful for this opportunity and cheering on our President and NASA as they lead us on the greatest adventure in human history.”

The Jewish League for Peace-Lehigh Valley will hold a Havdalah ceremony at the Bethlehem Rose Garden on Saturday, grieving for those lost in Gaza and calling for change to prevent further death and destruction.

The Allentown high school was recognized for registering students to vote and enlisting them to serve as poll workers.