Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Tuesday served as a preview of the political campaigns to come as candidates filed paperwork to appear on the April primary ballot. Voters will decide races for president, Congress and the General Assembly among others this year.

Candidates for president, Congress, the General Assembly and Pennsylvania's row offices must file their petitions with the state by Tuesday. Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley could be a critical swing region at both the national and state levels.

Allen Issa, a former congressional aide and Penn State Law student, endorsed Maria Montero for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District race.

Northampton County's newest member, Jeffrey Corpora, was appointed to the body Wednesday afternoon. Corpora said even he is not exactly sure how he was selected.

Given expected shortages, Allentown high schools and others are connecting the county elections staff with students in hopes of beefing up the number of young and bilingual poll workers.

Republican congressional candidates Maria Montero and Ryan Mackenzie criticized U.S. Rep. Susan Wild after she said Carbon County "drank the Trump Kool-Aid" on a conference call with prominent Pennsylvania Democrats.

Campaign finance reports show Republican Kevin Dellicker outraised the rest of the GOP field combined in his bid for PA-7. But Democratic incumbent Susan Wild raised twice as much as all of the Republicans put together.

Newly sworn-in Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta expects it will take him more than a year to fill his roster of prosecutors. In the meantime, his office has to deal with a massive backlog of cases.

Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana, no stranger to controversy over the past year, has announced a run for the Pa. House's 136th District.

State Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, announced Monday he will seek re-election to a 20th term.

Among the demands: moderators be registered Republicans who live in Pennsylvania.

Candidates say they intend to run for the Lehigh Valley's new Senate seat as well as a 3rd state House seat in Allentown.

Amy Cozze has left the Northampton County elections department and is now working for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.)

The party is launching its campaign for the wide-open races of governor and U.S. Senate.

Pennsylvania is losing a seat in the U.S. House because of population losses in the 2020 Census.

Democrats running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania will debate April 3.

Pennsylvania's election calendar is on hold amid the deliberations.

Gov Wolf appealed the Commonwealth Court's decision, triggering the move to the state's highest court.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh and decide the latest ideas

There are workarounds to problems with technical problems regarding signature verification

Critics of the new maps, like Victor Martinez, say they reduced the number of Latinos in some districts.

The state Supreme Court now will make the ultimate decision on congressional seat boundary lines.