Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Democrats Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht are each seeking a second 10-year term on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. While retention questions normally receive little attention, the potential to flip control of the high court has drawn massive political spending in the off-year election.

Republican Sharbel Koorie and Democrat Julie Zando-Dennis are set to face off for Easton's District 2 West Ward seat on City Council on Election Day.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, has organized a food drive while pinning the ongoing government shutdown on Senate Democrats. SNAP benefits that help feed millions of low-income Americans are hours away from expiring.

Two federal judge have ruled that the Trump administration must continue to fund the SNAP food aid program using contingency funds during the government shutdown. The administration has said it can't fund SNAP with the government shuttered.

Ahead of Election Day, Political Pulse host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick break down what to expect, including the races to keep an eye on.

State Rep. Josh Siegel has raised more than $447,000 toward his Lehigh County executive campaign since March — just short of the record Don Cunningham set in 2005. Siegel, a Democrat, has outspent Republican Roger MacLean by a nearly 10-to-1 margin this election cycle.

Democratic incumbent Zach Cole-Borghi has been charged as part of a criminal investigation into an interstate drug ring, upending the race between him and Republican Jacqueline Rivera.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Bucks/Lehigh, was the prime sponsor of the legislation now awaiting Gov. Josh Shapiro's signature. The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the state House and Senate.

Lehigh County Chief Clerk of Elections Tim Benyo said off-year elections are "a little more complicated for county officials," as opposed to a presidential election. This week on Political Pulse, Benyo tells host Tom Shortell about what goes into municipal elections behind the scenes.

During Northampton County's first budget hearing of 2025, held Wednesday, county officials said they do not plan to provide the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission with all of the funding it requested.

Drop boxes for mail-in ballots will be placed in seven locations across Northampton County, including the Northampton County Government Center in Easton and Bethlehem City Hall.

Democrat Anna Thomas is taking another shot at incumbent Rep. Joe Emrick for House District 137 in an election that may be decided by how the candidates handle warehouses.

Politics reporter Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick examine the results from the latest Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion in this week's Political Pulse. It found Kamala Harris and Donald Trump in a virtual tie for Pennsylvania's 19 Electoral College votes.

Former Gov. Tom Corbett and two former federal judges said that petitions for recounts and other litigation could cause some Pennsylvania counties to miss the deadline to certify results of the November election.

Allentown officials are asking voters to authorize them to one day raise the tax rate paid when properties are bought and sold in the city.

It was a packed house at the Emmaus Theatre for a special early screening of the documentary film "War Game" starring former government officials Wednesday.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump were locked in a 48% to 48% tie in a poll of likely voters released Wednesday by Muhlenberg College's Institute of Public Opinion.

A state appeals court is upholding a lower court's finding that a Republican-controlled county in Pennsylvania violated state law when election workers refused to tell voters whether their mail-in ballot in April's primary election would be counted. The case is one of several election-related lawsuits being litigated in Pennsylvania, a hotly contested presidential battleground state. Tuesday's decision by a Commonwealth Court panel upheld a Washington County judge's month-old order.

The film "War Game," produced by an Emmaus High School graduate, simulates what it would be like if a full insurrection really came to pass.

This week on Political Pulse, Tom and Chris discuss what makes a poll scientifically accurate, including a breakdown of how political polls are conducted.

Republicans have seen their numbers swell in Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley, but they still lag behind the total number of registered Democrats in the state and region.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made his first campaign stop in the Lehigh Valley, addressing more than 1,500 people at Freedom High School's gymnasium Saturday afternoon.