Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

At a virtual town hall Thursday, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, said he did not support cuts to Medicare or Social Security, called for peace in Ukraine, and gently pushed back on how the Trump administration handled cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Organizers with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Democratic National Congressional Committee and several other groups invited U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie to a town hall event Thursday over proposed Medicaid cuts. Instead, the first-term Republican will hold his own telephone town hall.

Philip Ginder, 74, who served on the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners for 24 years, was appointed on Wednesday to fill the vacancy created when Commissioner Robert Piligian resigned in February.

Candidates for Northampton County Council, Allentown City Council, Allentown mayor and Parkland School Board are being challenged in court for allegedly failing to meet legal requirements to appear on the May ballot.

A Lehigh County judge ruled in favor of LoriAnn Fehnel, a Republican candidate for Whitehall Township Commissioner, who challenged that candidate Betsey H. Charles's nominating petition is invalid and should be set aside.

City officials voted in favor of raising the next council president’s salary from $7,600 to $11,400 a year and council members’ annual pay from $7,100 to $10,650. However, City Council decided against salary increases for the next mayor and controller.

This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell speaks with Celeste Dee, owner of Lehigh Valley-based Advantage Political Strategies. The two talk about judicial campaigns.

The vacancy on the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners will be filled at a meeting on Wednesday night. The board interviewed three candidates on Monday night.

Whitehall Township treasurer/tax collector Tina Koren is asking the Lehigh County Court to reject Commissioner Thomas Slonaker's nominating petition for her job.

Whitehall Township commissioner Republican candidate LoriAnn Fehnel filed a challenge March 14 against fellow Republican candidate Betsey H. Charles, 3212 Chestnut St., based on deficiencies on the latter’s petition.

Both candidates say they want to wait until the final count is in Wednesday before declaring victory, but according to unofficial results from Lehigh County election, they will now be face off for Whitehall mayor in November.

Unofficial results in Northampton County show the incumbents are in control on the Republican primary. Meanwhile, the slate of challengers dominated in the Democratic primary.

The two slates of candidates in the hotly contested East Penn school board race will appear on the November ballot .

Primary candidates for Northampton County judge, Republican Nancy Aaroe and Democrat Brian Panella, secured their parties' nominations and will face off for the seat in November.

Democratic primary candidates for Easton City Council Ken Brown and Frank Pintabone have unofficially locked in their seats as of Tuesday night, though the third open position remains too close to call.

Democratic Easton primary candidate Sal Panto Jr. has unofficially won the race as of 10 p.m. Tuesday night.

The electronic voting machine was eventually found, and the Lehigh County Voter Registration Office says there was no evidence of tampering.

Campaign volunteers outnumbered voters across the Lehigh Valley early Tuesday as Pennsylvania’s primary election got underway.

Since it's not a presidential or midterm election, the 2023 municipal primary election may have snuck up on folks. If that surprises you, here are some other things you may not know about how our local elections are run.

Gavin Holihan, the uncontested candidate for Lehigh County district attorney, has been endorsed by incumbent Republican Jim Martin and Democratic County Executive Phil Armstrong, among others.

Three candidates for the local office said they focused on juggling campaign tasks around full-time jobs in the lead-up to the primary election. All were driven by a desire to educate voters and help people understand county government and its services.

Local elections rarely get the same level of participation as presidential races, but the outcomes often have greater impacts on voters' quality of life.