A Bethlehem Township resident and former candidate for district judge in Northampton County is running as a Green Party candidate for Congress in the Lehigh Valley — and is facing accusations that his campaign is being coordinated by the GOP, which he has denied.
In a news release Thursday, Andrew Tupone announced that he has qualified to appear on the November ballot as the Green Party candidate for Pennsylvania’s 7th District, which includes Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and part of Monroe County.
The district, represented by Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, is considered a “toss-up” by Cook Political Report, meaning the race is expected to be extraordinarily close and one of the few that will determine party control of the House of Representatives next year. Mackenzie faces a challenge from former Bethlehem firefighter and Pennsylvania Firefighters Association President Bob Brooks.
According to the news release, Tupone is a lifelong Lehigh Valley resident and emergency medical technician who has worked for Northampton County in the past.
In a statement, Tupone said he is running to “offer an independent progressive voice focused on the issues that matter most to the people of Pennsylvania’s 7th district,” which he said includes affordability, ending corruption, fighting climate change, “stopping the fascist in the White House” and “ending the genocide” in Gaza.
Despite his purported progressive stances, Tupone ran as a Republican for district judge for Bethlehem Township in both 2015 and 2021. Further, Tim Runkle, co-chair of the Pennsylvania Green Party, told political news outlet Punchbowl News that the state party is not backing Tupone.
That same report also cited unnamed people who claimed they were paid to circulate petitions on Tupone’s behalf, and refused to disclose who hired them, citing a nondisclosure agreement.
Brooks’ campaign issued a statement accusing Republican operatives of coordinating Tupone’s campaign. The Republican Party has recruited and aided Green Party candidates in past election cycles to try and siphon votes away from Democrats, according to reporting by the New York Times.
“It is clear that Republicans and their corporate donors are scared of Bob Brooks because they don’t want a working class Pennsylvanian in the halls of Congress, and they know they can’t beat him fair and square after voting to unleash higher prices on Lehigh Valley families,” Jenna Kaufman, Brooks’ campaign manager, said in a statement.
In an email to The Morning Call, Tupone denied that anyone with the Republican Party recruited him to run. He said he originally switched his party affiliation to Democratic this year and planned to run as a candidate for that party, but instead switched to the Green Party “due to my personal values and beliefs.”
“Just keep in mind party affiliation does not equate to beliefs all the time,” Tupone said in a written statement. “There are many Republicans that have progressive liberal views and many Democrats that have very conservative views. The bottom line is the people are fed up with both parties.”
Tupone also criticized Brooks and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for tipping the scales in Brooks’ favor before the primary election, where he faced three other Democratic opponents.
Tupone is not the only independent candidate in the race. Frank Golden, owner of a psychiatric medication management practice, filed paperwork to run as an independent party candidate with the Federal Election Commission, although he has not yet qualified as a candidate with the state. The deadline to do so is Monday.
The general election is Nov. 3.