Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Lehigh Country Controller Mark Pinsley criticized President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie for gutting the social safety net and Democratic leaders for failing to offer effective resistance.

Mark Pinsley is the fourth Democrat to challenge Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie in the Lehigh Valley's battleground district in the 2026 midterm.

Ed Zucal lost the Democratic primary by more than 60 percentage points but earned almost 500 write-in votes from Allentown Republicans to carry the contest into November.

The Lehigh Valley’s James Lawson Freedom School is a six-week summer program that uses a multicultural literacy curriculum and an intergenerational teaching model.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, said Congress should intervene if the Trump administration fails to release details of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The sex offender and financier's death in custody in 2019 has sparked years of speculation and conspiracy theories.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, the Lehigh Valley's first-term Republican lawmaker, will hold his second telephone town hall Wednesday evening. It comes after Congress passed the controversial One Big Beautiful Bill and amid turmoil over the Jeffrey Epstein fallout.

Last month's campaign finance report shows Roger MacLean had just $2,666 on hand, compared with the $200,403 that Josh Siegel had in the bank.

The rescission bill affects public media and foreign aid and now heads back to the U.S. House, which previously passed a different version of the funding cuts. President Donald Trump must sign the legislation before midnight Friday to eliminate the previously approved funding.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie is sitting on $1.19 million in his campaign coffers. Meanwhile, Democratic hopefuls Ryan Crosswell, Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine raised a combined $616,675 toward their own campaigns in the past three months.

All three of the Lehigh Valley's state senators backed a bill that would make cities liable if they don't clear out homeless camps deemed to be public nuisances. However, House consideration of the measure seems unlikely, according to one lawmaker.

WLVR's Megan Frank talks with reporters Tom Shortell and Brittany Sweeney.

Republicans have long demonized mail-in voting in Pennsylvania, and experts say it's cost the party elections. Win Again PAC, formed by rivals Dean Browning and Lisa Scheller, is attempting to get irregular GOP voters to embrace the method and swing close races.

There's two new candidates in the Allentown School Board race and one in the Southern Lehigh School board race.

Lehigh County officials determined the proposed legislation had more than a dozen problems, making it too problematic to present to Allentown voters. The bill would have dispatched an EMT and mental health professional to certain calls and prohibited other first responders from going.

WLVR's Megan Frank talks with Tom Shortell and Brian Myszkowski.

Conservative voters walked away impressed with Vivek Ramaswamy's performance in Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, but most still pined for former President Donald Trump.

"PBS NewsHour" filmed a segment of “America at a Crossroads" at the PBS39 studios in Bethlehem. Former longtime PBS anchor Judy Woodruff fronts the series.

State law gives Northampton County Republicans a little over a week to find a candidate willing to take on Democrat Stephen Baratta in a high-profile race for district attorney.

Incumbent Northampton County District attorney Terry Houck announced Monday he's no longer seeking reelection, all but assuring a former county judge will hold the office next year.

Dave McCormick often touts his deep connection to Pennsylvania as he lays the groundwork for another likely Senate run. But public records and footage from home interviews show he spends much of his time living in Connecticut,.

Maria Montero, an Easton resident, is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, the incumbent Democrat, in the Lehigh Valley's 2024 congressional race.

Bill Bachenberg is accused in a $10 million lawsuit of hiring a cybersecurity company to analyze voting machines in Fulton County for voting irregularities but than stiffing it when it found no evidence of voter fraud.