Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Tuesday served as a preview of the political campaigns to come as candidates filed paperwork to appear on the April primary ballot. Voters will decide races for president, Congress and the General Assembly among others this year.

Candidates for president, Congress, the General Assembly and Pennsylvania's row offices must file their petitions with the state by Tuesday. Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley could be a critical swing region at both the national and state levels.

Allen Issa, a former congressional aide and Penn State Law student, endorsed Maria Montero for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District race.

Northampton County's newest member, Jeffrey Corpora, was appointed to the body Wednesday afternoon. Corpora said even he is not exactly sure how he was selected.

Given expected shortages, Allentown high schools and others are connecting the county elections staff with students in hopes of beefing up the number of young and bilingual poll workers.

Republican congressional candidates Maria Montero and Ryan Mackenzie criticized U.S. Rep. Susan Wild after she said Carbon County "drank the Trump Kool-Aid" on a conference call with prominent Pennsylvania Democrats.

Campaign finance reports show Republican Kevin Dellicker outraised the rest of the GOP field combined in his bid for PA-7. But Democratic incumbent Susan Wild raised twice as much as all of the Republicans put together.

Newly sworn-in Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta expects it will take him more than a year to fill his roster of prosecutors. In the meantime, his office has to deal with a massive backlog of cases.

Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana, no stranger to controversy over the past year, has announced a run for the Pa. House's 136th District.

State Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, announced Monday he will seek re-election to a 20th term.

A Trump administration order cutting off some federal grant funding left providers of key social services racing to figure out if they would still receive critical funding.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom and Chris discuss the impact natural disasters have on politics. In recent years, that impact has shifted.

Democrat Amy Cozze, who oversaw Northampton County's elections in 2020 and 2021, will run for county executive this year, she announced Monday.

Democrat Theresa Fadem, Vice President of the Hellertown Borough Council, announced this weekend that she will join the race for one of Northampton County Council's five at-large seats.

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.