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.

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.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick talk about political campaign budgets and funding, comparing this year's election cycle to those past.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court order Monday is a win for David McCormick and a loss for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions.

Allentown City Council President Cynthia Mota will face Councilman Ed Zucal and Mayor Matt Tuerk in the 2025 Democratic primary.

U.S. Rep.-elect Ryan Mackenzie said he expects the incoming Congress and Trump administration to attempt to pull back funding for some projects approved by the Biden administration. "We do want to make sure that the priorities and that the things we want to be achieving, not only as a country but in our local community, are met," he said in an interview with LehighValleyNews.com.

Mayor Matt Tuerk is seeking a second term but faces challenges from City Council President Cynthia Mota and member Ed Zucal.