Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

If you’ve ever thought about running for local office, you’ve probably had one big question above all: How do I get my campaign up and running? Tom Shortell and Sam Chen have the answers in this week's Political Pulse.

Santos became the youngest person ever elected to Allentown City Council when she won election in 2021. She'll join four other candidates in the primary election on May 20, 2025.

The federally funded Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley served about 10,000 people last year across its five locations across the region.

Ben Stemrich announced his bid Friday, joining three other candidates — Jeremy Binder, Luis Acevedo and Cristian Pungo — in the contest for four open seats.

Federal agents were at Northampton County Prison on Friday morning to apprehend an inmate upon his release. The man was alleged to be in the country illegally. The level of cooperation between ICE agents and the county has come under attack by U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie.

Phil Armstrong highlighted a long list of accomplishments and laid out a few more plans for his last year in office Thursday night.

Mayor J. William Reynolds announced Thursday he's running for a chance at another term at mayor. Reynolds, a Democrat, said that while he's excited for another shot at the job, the successes of the past four years have been a group effort.

Lehigh County relies on hundreds of millions in state and federal funding to provide services to residents. The fate of that funding is unclear as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk target federal funding.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, has four office locations, including two in Lehigh County. Bilingual services are available in the new Center City Allentown location that opened this week.

House Republicans want to slash federal spending by $2 trillion and are eying cuts and restrictions to the $880 billion Medicaid program. Demonstrators say they'll keep applying pressure to U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, to oppose such plans.

Polls say John Fetterman is neck-and-neck against Mehmet Oz in the race for U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Pat Toomey. Fetterman will swing through the Lehigh Valley on Thursday for a canvassing event with U.S. Rep. Susan Wild.

Registered Democrats account for 67% of mail-in ballots ahead of Election Day in the Lehigh Valley.

The two candidates are making their final pushes towards getting voters on their side in the district that includes parts of South Allentown, parts of western Salisbury Township, and the borough of Emmaus. Both have name recognition within different parts of the district, which incorporates and leaves out parts of the old 22nd and 134th districts.

Pennsylvania's high court says officials aren't allowed to count votes from mail-in or absentee ballots that lack accurate, handwritten dates on their return envelopes.

Campaign finance reports show Lisa Scheller and Susan Wild have spent more than $10.1 million in the 7th Congressional District race.

Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley and Parkland School Board Director Jarrett Coleman are campaigning to represent much of Bucks and Lehigh counties in the state senate.

Incumbent 132nd state House District Representative Michael Schlossberg, a Democrat, will face challengers Beth Finch, a Republican, and Matthew Schutter, a Libertarian, on Nov. 8

The third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives spoke during Sunday's service at Greater Shiloh Church. He urged voters to keep Democrats in control of Pennsylvania's 7th District, and the House.

The candidates differed on inflation, public safety, fiscal strategies and more as the two joined each other on stage for the debate hosted by WFMZ's "Business Matters" Thursday.

Democrat Mark Pinsley and Republican Jarrett Coleman traded verbal jabs during Thursday's half-hour debate hosted by Business Matters.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley addressed about 150 donors at a Lisa Scheller political fundraiser Wednesday night. Scheller, a Republican, is attempting to oust Democratic incumbent Susan Wild from PA's 7th Congressional District.

John Fetterman's health and familiar attack ads dominated the debate between Pennsylvania's senate candidates Tuesday night. Fetterman and Oz touched on a wide array of subjects, from abortion to gun control to the economy to the candidates' personal background.