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.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing from former Justice Department leaders who knew about an effort by former President Donald Trump to use the DOJ to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results.

A Pennsylvania state lawmaker and ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump is launching a “forensic investigation” of the state’s 2020 presidential election, demanding cooperation from counties and mimicking a widely criticized partisan effort in Arizona.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive infrastructure bill last week, supported by Democrats. Now paving its way to the Senate, a Republican speaks out about the legislation.

The Northampton County District Attorney says a state trooper was justified in a fatal shooting in May following his investigation.

Gov. Tom Wolf is halting a package of election law changes pushed by the Republican-led state legislature, a move that has been widely anticipated.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced charges June 29 against Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach for endangering the welfare of a child and failing to report suspected child abuse, both misdemeanors.

Gov. Tom Wolf spoke out on June 17 against a Republican-backed election reform bill, calling it an ‘unconstitutional’ attack on voter rights.

The 2021 primary election drew a historic number of voters in Lehigh and Northampton counties despite it being an off-year, municipal election.

Mayor Bob Donchez is wrapping up his second term and term limits prevent him from running again. The sole Republican candidate is former Lehigh County Administrator John Kachmar.

PBS39 and WLVR’s Allentown mayoral debate May 6 was focused on Latino affairs and revealed the candidates' strong opinions about policing in Pennsylvania’s third-largest city.

Voters with visual disabilities face challenges if they want to vote-by-mail in Pennsylvania.

The 2020 U.S. presidential election saw the highest voter turnout in over a century, but controversy has swirled about the way Americans voted whether that was in person or by mail.