Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

On this week's episode of Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick talk about President Donald Trump's second term. Has he started it off on a strong foot? In Trump's first month in office, Borick said, approval numbers seem to be pointing down.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure says he'll run for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District seat in 2026, seeking to bring the seat back under Democratic control.

Mark Pinsley also plans to publish a series of “plain-language reports” about how billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to cut the federal government will affect local municipalities, services and programs.

Patrick Palmer was less than two dozen votes short of winning one of four Democratic nominations for council in 2021.

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.

Bob Brooks has declared victory in the Lehigh Valley's Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District.

The four candidates for the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District spoke with Lehigh Valley Public media to make final pitches to voters.

Voting still is taking place inside Salem United Church of Christ after someone threw an explosive device outside the polling place. Local, state and federal official are investigating.

Tuesday is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley Democratic voters will cast ballots in the 7th Congressional District, 16th District state Senate, the 22nd District state House of Representatives and 187th District state House. Republicans have no races for those seats; GOP candidates in them are unopposed.

The Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District has dominated the airwaves, but voters in Lehigh County and northern Bucks County have other statehouse races to weigh in on.

Katherine Reinhard said many voters remain undecided heading into the primary and urged audiences to rely on credible reporting as they make final decisions.

State Rep. Ana Tiburcio is seeking a two-year term after winning a special election in February. She's facing Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach, who's been a progressive voice in Lehigh Valley politics for 15 years.

A Northampton County Councilwoman last week accused former county Executive Lamont McClure of trying to pressure her to vote for a 20-year special taxing district that could have sent $26 million in public funding to a project to turn the former Dixie Cup factory into housing.

Carol Obando-Derstine, Lamont McClure and Ryan Crosswell expressed a desire to reform ICE rather than abolish it during one-on-one interviews in the PA-7 Talks series.

Lead Left PAC has supported Democrat Lamont McClure over Bob Brooks and Ryan Crosswell, but the super PAC's shadowy origins has led to allegations of Republican interference in the race.

Democratic voters will decide whether Rachel Cuevas or Geoffrey Whitcomb will represent their party in the 187th state House District this November. Republican incumbent Gary Day is running unopposed in his primary.

Political scientist Chris Borick says endorsements and money have given Bob Brooks a slight advantage in the crowded PA-7 race.