BETHLEHEM, Penn.—A union boss and firefighter managed to secure endorsements from key Democratic Party figures ahead of a primary election on May 19 to challenge a vulnerable Pennsylvania Republican.

Meanwhile, voters in the state’s 7th Congressional District—one of the most critical swing districts in the country—say they are uneasy to see so many forces from outside the Lehigh Valley trying to influence Tuesday’s vote.

“How can you put your thumb on the scale so heavily, it’s just like, ‘Don’t tell me what to do,’” Rachel Leon told The Epoch Times.

“For me, it didn’t move the needle one way or another.”

Leon, president of Bethlehem City Council, said all four Democrats running had amazing policy positions and would bring their own sets of skills in representing District 7.

But she lamented the barrage of money and influence that has poured into the race.

“I know so many people that felt like the DNC was coming and telling them exactly who to vote for, and it’s like, come on, it’s a freaking primary.

“You’re gonna support who you support, and then you’re gonna head out of the freaking dodge and leave us with it,” Leon added, declining to say who she backed in the race.

Democrat Bob Brooks is leading the primary for Pennsylvania’s District 7, pulling ahead of a pack of four candidates that includes a local politician and a former federal prosecutor.

Situated in eastern Pennsylvania, north of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the 7th Congressional District contains all of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties, as well as portions of Monroe County.

Residents walk down Broadway, the main thoroughfare in the mountain city of Jim Thorpe, in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District on May 18, 2026. (Jacob Burg/The Epoch Times)

Brooks is the president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association and served as a firefighter in the city of Bethlehem for 20 years.

He is running on a platform that includes banning all corporate political action committee (PAC) money from politics.

He has been boosted by critical stateside endorsements, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has given his nod and appeared at rallies with Brooks, as well as Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Penn.) and Democratic state Reps. Peter Schweyer and Mike Schlossberg.

Shapiro, a Democratic governor facing reelection this year, has enjoyed warm approval ratings throughout the Keystone State during his term, including among some Republican voters.

Figures from outside of Pennsylvania have jumped into the race as well.

Former Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is a 2028 presidential hopeful, endorsed Brooks months ago.

Like progressive Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, Brooks netted endorsements from two key players on the Left: Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

A flier from the Bob Brooks campaign seen near the Bethlehem Visitors Center in Bethlehem, Penn., on May 19, 2026. (Jacob Burg/The Epoch Times)

But unlike Platner, who was simultaneously running against the party establishment until Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the Maine Senate primary, Brooks has solidified support across the Left.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which often works in lockstep with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), endorsed Brooks early this month.

The Working Families Party, a progressive political party that sometimes operates within the Democratic Party’s wider coalition, endorsed Brooks in early March, championing the union boss as a leader for the working class.

Vulnerable Republican Incumbent

Mackenzie narrowly beat then-Rep. Susan Wild (D-Penn.) by 1-percentage-point in 2024.

Despite Republicans flipping District 7 that year, Mackenzie is considered vulnerable, with a recent Democratic Party-aligned poll showing him underwater with constituents.

The nonpartisan National Journal House Power rankings recently labeled him the “most vulnerable Republican incumbent.”

But Brooks is not running unopposed in his primary like Mackenzie.

He is in a crowded race with former federal prosecutor and Marine, Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County executive Lamont McClure, and Carol Obando-Derstine, who served as a senior adviser to former Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.) and is endorsed by Wild and several out-of-state congressional representatives.

A late April poll by the Democratic political strategy firm GBAO put Brooks in first place with 24 percent, holding a 7-point lead over McClure, who took second at 17 percent.

A massive chunk of cash has flooded into the race on both sides, according to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

As of April 29, Mackenzie had $2.6 million in cash on hand, while Crosswell led Democrats with roughly $437,000.

Brooks followed with around $252,000, while McClure had nearly $142,000 in cash on hand. Obando-Derstine had less than $100,000.

Mysterious PAC Ads

A recently formed PAC called Lead Left released a commercial accusing a Brooks-related group of funding “election deniers and anti-abortion extremists” and Crosswell of being a “lifelong Republican” in the Justice Department.

The ad asked voters to support McClure in the primary.

While little is known publicly about Lead Left, a Punchbowl News investigation revealed that metadata on its website contained links to WinRed, which fundraises for the GOP.

The Epoch Times could not independently verify these claims, and Lead Left does not have a public means of contact, but voters mentioned the allegations on Tuesday.

“It makes me suspicious that it seems like the Republican Party wants [McClure] as the candidate against Ryan Mackenzie,” teacher Anastasia Wrobel told The Epoch Times.

“I would prefer someone who’s going to be running who will be able to defeat Ryan Mackenzie.”

Wrobel, who also declined to say who she voted for on Tuesday, said she went to a meet and greet with Brooks and liked him as a person, but also has reservations about him as a candidate.

She fears he could undergo a political shift like Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.), who ran as a progressive in 2022 and has since turned to the center while standing with Republicans amid several critical votes in Congress on certain issues over the past year.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) speaks to the press on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 3, 2026. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)

“It’s a difficult decision, and I feel like the issues, so often in our political system, or at least ever since the Supreme Court allowed money into politics, you don’t get really true information about candidates,” she said.

The district has many localized needs as well, voters say.

Bethlehem could use more affordable housing options, said Tiffany Sondergaard, who lost her home during the COVID-19 pandemic and runs a public relations, marketing, and talent management business.

Sondergaard said the recent increase in energy prices from the Iran War has made basic survival difficult.

“Groceries are going up. I was so proud, I just was able to pay my electric bill in full this last month. Thank you, God. And so now here we go with the air conditioning,” she said, as temperatures climbed into the low 90s in Northampton County on Tuesday.

Tiffany Sondergaard, a business owner from Bethlehem, voted in the primary for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District on May 19, 2026. (Jacob Burg/The Epoch Times)

Sondergaard said her vote was a really difficult decision due to knowing Obando-Derstine and McClure personally.

“We definitely need someone who has their ear and their feet on the ground and their ear to the ground and really understand what’s going on in our homes for families and business owners,” she said, also declining to say who she backed in the race.

Christopher Snyder, who works in the health care industry in the Lehigh Valley, told The Epoch Times that he voted for McClure and, like Wrobel, feared Brooks could make a similar political turn as Fetterman has in recent years.

But Brooks has support in the district as well.

Stephanie Marmolejos, who voted at the Bethlehem Visitors Center polling station on Tuesday, said she supports Brooks because of his progressive endorsements and policy positions.

Her biggest concerns are wage inequality and lack of affordable housing.

On Monday, a New York Times/Siena poll showed Democrats leading Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by double digits, 50 percent to 39 percent.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled Ryan Mackenzie’s name in one instance. The Epoch Times regrets the error.