How much money Lehigh Valley candidates for Congress have raised

Candidates for the Lehigh Valley’s seat in Congress raised more than $1.5 million over the past three months, an amount sure to skyrocket as one of the most hotly contested races in the country gets underway.

First-term Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie leads the field in fundraising, with $456,756 raised in the most recent quarter and over $1.4 million in cash on hand.

Mackenzie in November 2026 will face one of five Democrats who so far have entered the race: Northampton County Executive Lamont G. McClure; former PPL regional manager Carol Obando-Derstine; former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell; Pennsylvania Fire Fighters Association President Bob Brooks; and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley.

Crosswell led the Democratic field in fundraising in the third quarter, followed by Brooks.

Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District is considered one of the most competitive in the country, and a key seat in determining which party controls the House of Representatives.

Democrats are aiming to harness perceived anger at the GOP for forthcoming cuts to some social programs and a still-stagnant U.S. economy, whereas Mackenzie is aiming to tout economic progress and immigration crackdowns in his pitch to 2026 midterm voters.

With the general election over a year out, most candidates have yet to spend much on major ad buys. However, they are still spending hundreds of thousands on fundraising consulting, salaries and other fees for their campaigns.

Here is where the candidates’ money is coming from and how they are spending it.

Ryan Mackenzie

Mackenzie, who is running unopposed for re-election in the Republican primary, leads the field in fundraising, with $456,756 this quarter and over $1.4 million in cash on hand.

Notable Mackenzie donors include John and Tina Dowd, owners of travel agency Sundance Vacations, who each gave $3,500, the maximum one-time donation amount; Joe Popolo, founder of Potomac Capital LLC, who gave $7,000 across two donations; and Gary Iaccoca, owner of local chain Yocco’s hot dogs, who gave $2,000.

Mackenzie also brought in more than $103,000 in PAC contributions, including $10,000 from a committee led by GOP Speaker of the House Mike Johnson; $6,000 from American Builders and Contractors, which represents the non-union construction industry; and $6,500 from the American College of Radiology PAC.

His campaign also pulled in another $103,000 in joint fundraising efforts, which are organized by political action committees and raise money for more than one candidate.

Via the joint fundraising, Mackenzie brought in donations from wealthy donors including Richard Uihlein, CEO of ULine; Tani Dru Austin and William F. Austin, executives with hearing aid company Starkey Hearing Technologies; billionaires Belinda and Frank Vandersloot, owners of wellness company Melaleuca Inc. and prolific GOP donors; Robert E. Marling, owner of Woodforest National Bank; and Trevor Rees-Jones, billionaire businessman and frequent Republican donor.

Those donors all gave $7,000, the maximum permitted amount per quarter under current campaign finance laws.

Mackenzie spent around $203,000 this quarter, largely on fundraising consulting and events. The campaign spent about $29,000 on digital fundraising consulting, $32,000 on direct mail fundraising; $65,000 on fundraising commissions and consulting; $8,000 on processing fees to fundraising software firm Winred; and $6,000 on food and beverage at fundraising events.

“With over a year until the midterms, Congressman Mackenzie is continuing to cement his lead in this race,” Mackenzie for Congress spokesman Arnaud Armstrong said in a written statement, going on to criticize the Democratic candidates as “radical leftists, socialists and snake oil salesmen.”

Ryan Crosswell

Crosswell, a Marine veteran and former federal prosecutor who resigned in protest against Donald Trump earlier this year, leads among his Democratic counterparts, with $380,000 raised in the quarter and $434,000 in cash on hand.

Notable Crosswell donors include several of his colleagues at the law firm Singleton Schreiber, his current employer, including attorneys Andrew Bluth and Christopher Rodriguez, both of whom gave $7,000 across two donations each, and Mark Slaughter, who gave $6,000.

Others who maxed out their donations to the Crosswell campaign include self-employed attorney Brian Brook, Serial Box attorney Julian Yap and Finra lawyer Jonathan Pahl.

Crosswell brought in two Political Action Committee donations: Cross Partisan PAC gave $5,000 and Vote Vets, an organization that supports veterans running for office, gave $5,000. The Marines veteran also brought in $12,600 via a joint fundraising effort organized by New Politics Next Mission fund, which supports candidates with public service backgrounds.

Crosswell spent $200,340 last quarter, including $63,000 in fundraising consulting fees, $47,800 in digital media and campaign consulting, $31,000 in payroll for campaign staff and $10,500 for video production.

“This impressive number further proves that Ryan is the candidate best positioned to have the resources needed to compete and win in a general election in this crucial pick-up seat,” Crosswell campaign manager Noa Worob said in a written statement.

Carol Obando-Derstine

Obando-Derstine, a former engineer and regional affairs director who is running with the backing of former Democratic Rep. Susan Wild, raised $122,720 in the third quarter of 2025 and has $127,500 remaining in her campaign coffers.

Notable individual donors to Obando-Derstine include Chris Martin, president of Nazareth-based guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co., who gave $5,000 this quarter; Matthew Green, senior vice president at environmental consultant TRC Companies, who is also a former PPL vice president, and who gave $3,000; and Quetcy Lozada, a Philadelphia City Council member, who gave $500.

Obando-Derstine also brought in $19,000 in political action committee contributions including $5,000 from Emily’s List, which supports female candidates, and the same amount from BOLD PAC, which supports Latino candidates, and 314 Action, which supports candidates with STEM backgrounds. She also made a $1,000 personal contribution to her campaign.

Her campaign spent $118,000 this quarter, including $26,000 in software fees, $27,000 in salaries to three employees, $13,200 in payroll fees and taxes and $3,000 in fees to fundraising services ActBlue and Emily’s List.

Obando-Derstine’s campaign could not immediately be reached before a publication deadline.

Lamont G. McClure

McClure, Northampton County executive, posted $229,459 in receipts this quarter; however, the vast majority of those funds came from a $200,000 personal loan to his campaign.

He also brought in $27,000 in individual donations and $2,500 in PAC donations.

Notable donors include Thomas Williams, president of Cityline Construction Fire and Water, an Allentown-based water damage restoration business, who gave $3,000; and Louis Berroteran, owner of business services company Berroteran Group and former president of County Executives of America, who gave $1,000.

Several Northampton County employees also made contributions, including acting director of administration Nicole Pietrzak, who gave $250 this quarter; Barbara Baldo, an attorney for the county, who gave $250; Christopher Ziegler, county chief deputy sheriff, who gave $100; and Tina Smith, Department of Community and Economic Development director, who gave $250.

McClure contributed $200,000 via a personal loan to his campaign on Sept. 17.

He spent $33,859 this quarter, including $11,100 in salary expenses to his campaign manager, $8,000 for research from firm policy polling research, $3,600 in software expenses and $593 in ActBlue fundraising fees.

Despite lagging behind his opponents in fundraising this quarter, McClure said he is optimistic about his chances in the primary: An August poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling and financed by his campaign, found that McClure had the most name recognition and positive association among the five Democrats running.

“In a five-candidate field, my advantages are, I think, very pronounced, when you consider everyone has about the same amount of money,” McClure said in an interview. “I am going to win this thing.”

Bob Brooks

Brooks, a former Bethlehem firefighter and current president of the Pennsylvania Fire Fighters Association, raised $308,000 this quarter and has $243,615 left on hand.

Notable individual donors to Brooks’ campaign include Radislov Lankin, CEO of diagnostic testing company United Diagnostic Services, who gave $3,000; Steve Mandel, founder of Lone Pine Capital, who gave $7,000; and Jeremy Warmkessel, Allentown firefighter and president of IAFF Local 302, who gave $1,300.

Brooks’ campaign also brought in $39,000 in political action committee donations, including $10,000 from the International Association of Fire Fighters PAC; $10,000 from Progressive Voters of America; and $5,000 from the Service Employees International Union PAC.

His campaign spent just under $65,000 this quarter, including $13,500 in salaries to two employees, $40,000 in digital advertising and nearly $10,000 in credit card processing fees.

A press release from Brooks’ campaign notes that he raised $308,000 in the first five weeks of his campaign. He officially launched his run for office in early September.

“These results send a clear message: we need more leaders who can connect with regular people and understand their struggles. With the support of so many hard working families in the Lehigh Valley, I’m ready to be their voice in Washington,” Brooks said in a written statement.

Mark Pinsley

Pinsley, Lehigh County’s controller, brought in $73,000 this quarter and has $54,000 cash on hand.

Almost all of those funds, $72,600, came from individual donations, including $2,500 from Chris Martin of C.F. Martin & Co; and $1,000 from Josh Siegel, state representative and candidate for Lehigh County executive.

He received one, $500 PAC donation from the committee to elect Jon Irons, who is a progressive Lehigh County commissioner.

Pinsley’s campaign spent $18,700 this quarter, including around $7,000 on Facebook ads, $5,000 on fundraising consulting, $3,600 on text messaging and $2,800 in ActBlue processing fees.

“We’re building the team, resources and supporters we’ll need to win and bring strong Democratic representation for the Lehigh Valley in Congress,” said Pinsley campaign advisor Mark McLaurin in a written statement.

The 2026 midterm primary election in Pennsylvania is May 19; the general election is Nov. 3, 2026.

Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.