Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

From its founding via executive order at the start of the year, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiencies, or DOGE, intended to accomplish a number of lofty goals. But has DOGE lived up to its promise?

Thousands of federal employees are expected to go on furlough and millions more will be expected to work without pay after Congress failed to reach a short-term funding deal by Wednesday's deadline.

Pennsylvania's counties, school districts and social service agencies are warning of mounting layoffs, borrowing costs and damage to the state’s safety net as the politically divided state government enters its fourth month of a budget stalemate.

Candidates for East Penn School Board will participate in a forum tonight at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. There are seven candidates on the ballot, vying for four seats.

Candidates for Allentown School Board will participate in a forum tonight at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. Seven of the 8 candidates on the ballot are expected to participate.

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Pennsylvania and other states after they refused to turn over sensitive voter data. State and county officials have defended local election practices.

Gerlach pledged to always “fight for” working-class residents of the 22nd State House District, as she said she’s done for more than a decade as an elected official in Allentown.

On this week's episode of Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick talk about President Donald Trump and his administration's relationship with the media.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, addressed protests outside his office, criticisms of how President Donald Trump has rolled out tariffs and shifting thoughts on how to approach the war in Ukraine.

This month, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie has voted on a crackdown on opioids, debates on President Donald Trump’s tariffs and small business taxes.

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.

Join Megan Frank at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. every Friday for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week, she's joined by politics reporter Tom Shortell and digital managing content producer Stephanie Sigafoos.

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.

With a win in Wisconsin, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.

York County District Attorney Dave Sunday, a Republican, beat former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to become Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor.