Lehigh Valley Politics and Election News

Incumbent Terry Houck and challenger Stephen Baratta each made their case to voters in a contentious town hall. Houck is in the final year of his first term. Baratta retired after 25 years as a county judge to run for the top prosecutor job.

Students, parents and area residents responded to a pledge by some Republican candidates to out transgender students and censor "woke" curriculum in the Southern Lehigh School District.

A judge ruled Allentown City Councilwoman Candida Affa turned in enough signatures to make the Democratic ballot. Tina Jo Koren, a Republican candidate for Whitehall Township mayor, fought off an challenge to her statement of financial interests.

A century after the first women were elected to Pennsylvania’s state legislature, both chambers now have women at their helm.

Public Safety Commission member Chris Peischl is running for a seat on the Board of Commissioners. He has worked in Emergency Management Services for the past 30 years and has served in several positions in the Greenawalds Fire Company, including firefighter and assistant chief.

Diane Kelly, the president of South Whitehall commissioners, is running for re-election. She was first elected to the board in 2019 and is the longest-standing member.

Senior Judge Edward Reibman ruled William Rowe can stay on the Republican primary ballot because his challenger failed to establish standing in the case.

At a press conference Thursday, DA candidate Stephen Baratta criticized incumbent district attorney Terry Houck over three cases from his tenure. Houck hit back in response.

Kerry Myers, who represents the Easton area on Northampton County Council, will not appear on the primary ballot after losing a petition challenge.

Shapiro wants to eliminate both the sales and use tax and the gross receipts tax on cell phone services. Doing so would save Pennsylvanians $124 million each year.

The first-term senator laid out his opposition to data centers and answered some of the “almost 100 questions” he said he received during a virtual town hall Wednesday night.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie campaigned against forever wars in 2024 but has voted to give President Donald Trump leeway in the conflict against Iran.

With Memorial Day behind them, lawmakers are heading toward summer recess amid questions about what, if anything, they will be able to accomplish before voters return their attention to the fall elections.

Whoever is appointed would hold office for about a year and a half, as Allentown’s code stipulates an interim controller serves until the next municipal election.

Pennsylvania lawmakers moved closer to establishing a statewide restriction on student cell phone use in public schools, as the state House passed legislation requiring "bell-to-bell" phone bans during the school day.

Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley and Bradley Merkl-Gump, a school board director in Bucks County, swept their home counties, according to unofficial precinct-level results.

On this week's Lehigh Valley Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick break down the 2026 primary election results.

Firefighter union boss Bob Brooks swept each municipality in Lehigh County and nearly each one in Northampton County en route to his nearly 20-point victory in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District's Democratic primary Tuesday.

Jack Pletz, 24 and his father, Matthew Pletz, have been arrested. Seventeen explosive devices were found inside their pickup truck.

The district, now represented by Sen. Jarrett Coleman, a first-term Republican, covers much of Lehigh County's rural and suburban communities and the northern part of Bucks County.

Incumbent Gary Day ran unopposed in the Republican primary as he seeks his second consecutive term and ninth term overall representing the region in Harrisburg.

The 22nd District has been a hotbed of political drama since Josh Siegel resigned from the seat in December to become Lehigh County executive.