PA 7th Congressional District election results: Brooks defeats Mackenzie

Democrat Bob Brooks rode the wave of voter dissatisfaction over President Donald Trump to declare victory in the hotly contested 7th Congressional District election against incumbent Republican Ryan Mackenzie.

The Associated Press called the race in Brooks’ favor around 10:30 p.m.; with 80% of votes counted, he had a more than 30,000-vote lead over Mackenzie, according to unofficial results.

In a victory speech delivered at ArtsQuest Center in Bethlehem, Brooks played up his working-class roots, sharing the stage with family members and colleagues from the International Association of Fire Fighters. Several members from that union and other labor organizations were on hand to cheer him on.

“Only a tiny sliver of Congress comes from the working class,” he said. “And you can say you stand with working people all you want, but if you’ve never lived their life, you’ve never lived the struggle firsthand. It’s like coaching a sport you’ve never played — you might know the rules, but you don’t know the game.”

In an interview with The Morning Call following his concession speech at Hyatt Place in Upper Macungie Township, Mackenzie attributed Democrats’ success to the time-honored trend of backlash to the president during midterm elections.

“The pendulum swings against the party that has the White House every midterm,” he said.

Asked if he thought opposition to Trump’s policies specifically factored in, he said that will be determined “race by race,” whether or not Republican candidates who were more vocally opposed to Trump prevailed in their races, versus those who aligned themselves more closely with his agenda.

Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie addresses supporters Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, at his Election Day watch party at Hyatt Hotel in Allentown after being defeated in the 7th Congressional District race. Democratic challenger Bob Brooks won the Lehigh Valley-based seat in what was one of the most-watched U.S. House races in the country. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

Supporters of Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie watch the results come in Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, at his Election Day watch party at Hyatt Hotel in Allentown. Mackenzie faced Democratic challenger Bob Brooks in the 7th Congressional District in what was one of the most-watched races in the country. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

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Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie addresses supporters Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, at his Election Day watch party at Hyatt Hotel in Allentown after being defeated in the 7th Congressional District race. Democratic challenger Bob Brooks won the Lehigh Valley-based seat in what was one of the most-watched U.S. House races in the country. (Jonathan Broady/Special to The Morning Call)

Mackenzie, for his part, largely supported Trump’s agenda, although he broke with a majority of Republicans to support an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to extend Obamacare health insurance subsidies.

Mackenzie, running for his second term representing the district, faced a formidable challenge from Brooks, a former Bethlehem firefighter and president of the Pennsylvania Fire Fighters Association. He centered his campaign on his record and perceived legislative wins from Republicans, while Brooks highlighted his working-class roots and criticized Mackenzie’s support for Trump.

At Brooks’ election night party at ArtsQuest, the mood was jovial as many watched the election results from CNN being shown on a big screen. Many smiled as Gov. Josh Shapiro’s reelection was announced, along with other Democratic victories.

Shortly before 10 p.m., Brooks made his way through a standing-only crowd to the song “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, hugging several supporters, including Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk.

Brooks credited his family for putting up with a negative campaign that featured personal and political attacks.

“Tonight, the people of the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos looked at all the negativity and the hate and said ‘pound sand,’” he said.

When he enters the U.S. House of Representatives in January, Brooks said he has four key legislative priorities, including banning congressional stock trading, stopping corporate PAC money, implementing term limits and releasing the full Epstein files.

“If we’re going to fix DC, we’ve got to put the fire out first,” Brooks said.

Mackenzie did not mention Brooks in his five-minute speech, where he told a crowd of over 100 supporters, “we did not get the result we were looking for this evening.”

He thanked the supporters, volunteers, staff and interns who worked for his campaign.

”The message to all of you is that we should feel very good about what we were able to do for the people of the Lehigh Valley,” Mackenzie said.

He highlighted some of his perceived legislative wins, which include resolving 11,000 constituent service cases and bringing tens of millions of dollars in grants to the Lehigh Valley.

“There will be brighter days ahead, there will be more elections to run, there will be more results in our favor, and there will be more opportunities to serve our community,” Mackenzie said.

Afterward, Mackenzie told The Morning Call it is “too soon to tell” what is next for him once he leaves office.

“We obviously still have two months left in this term, so that is what we are going to be focused on for now,” he said. “After that, we will see what happens going forward.”

Past elections in the Lehigh Valley district have had razor-thin margins: Mackenzie ousted former Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild by only 4,000 votes, or just one percentage point. The 7th District includes all of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon Counties and part of Monroe County.

Tuesday’s election, however, was much more decisive. With 80% of votes counted, Brooks led Mackenzie by double digit percentage points.

The election followed a highly contentious campaign between the two candidates. Most notably, Brooks, citing “deranged attacks” from Mackenzie’s campaign, backed out of a debate with his opponent just two days before it was scheduled.

Mackenzie publicly called Brooks a “con-man” and “nut job,” citing a now-settled lawsuit between his former in-laws and other reports in right-wing news outlets that accuse the Democrat of violating laws via his former business ventures, which Brooks has denied.

Brooks, for his part, called Mackenzie a “lap dog” to Trump and accused the Republican of failing to stand up for everyday people.

Brooks won a competitive four-way Democratic primary, with Shapiro’s support, to win the Democratic nomination in May.

Mackenzie is a former six-term state representative from Lehigh County.

At Brooks’ watch party, Tuerk said the voters he encountered around Allentown were frustrated with Trump’s policies.

“I’ve been surprised by how many people I have seen, spending time in a few different parts of the city, that are frustrated with Trump’s policies,” Tuerk said. “It’s the foreign wars that are hurting our prices.”

With Allentown’s high Latino population, Tuerk said many also were frustrated by immigration policies.

“[Immigration enforcement] might not have shown up in the city, but [voters] certainly are paying attention,” Tuerk said.

One thing that surprised Tuerk was the number of Republicans he talked to who crossed over on the ballot. He said Allentown voters were focusing less on party affiliation and more on which candidate would improve conditions for their families and children.

“They told me they’re ‘going blue all the way down the mountain,’ ” Tuerk said. “Which was really a shocker to hear. I didn’t think we’d hear that.”

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