{"id":103883,"date":"2026-02-03T13:58:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/103883\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T13:58:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T13:58:09","slug":"who-ended-2025-with-most-cash-among-democrats-running-for-congress-in-lehigh-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/103883\/","title":{"rendered":"Who ended 2025 with most cash among Democrats running for Congress in Lehigh Valley?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published on lehighvalleylive.com<\/a> as part of a partnership with the website, which aims to give voters nonpartisan factual information. Armchair Lehigh Valley is run by publisher Katherine Reinhard and editor Robert H. Orenstein. For more information, or to subscribe, visit armchairlehighvalley.substack.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ryan Crosswell holds a large advantage in cash at the start of 2026 among Democratic candidates for 7th Congressional District<\/a>, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the federal Election Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the May 19 primary approaching, Crosswell\u2019s campaign has $612,250 to spend, which is $271,483 more than the next Democratic candidate: Bob Brooks with $340,767.<\/p>\n

The year-end cash totals for the other Democrats candidates are Lamont McClure, $287,590; Carol Obando-Derstine, $123,508; and Mark Pinsley, $50,017. The other two Democratic candidates, Aiden Gonzalez and Lewis Shupe, did not file year-end reports for 2025 because they entered the race in 2026.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, incumbent Republican Ryan Mackenzie, who has no primary challenger, continues to vastly outraise the Democratic candidates and ended 2025 with $1,830,988 in the bank, which is three times the total of Crosswell.<\/p>\n

For all of 2025, the five candidates combined raised $2,792,552 compared to Mackenzie\u2019s $2,577,819; Mackenzie had the edge after the first nine months.<\/p>\n

The latest FEC reports, covering the final three months of 2025, were filed by Saturday\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n

Mackenzie won the seat in 2024 in a close race – a margin of 1 percentage point – over incumbent Democrat Susan Wild,<\/a> helping Republicans retain control of the House.<\/p>\n

Political analysts again consider the 2026 election to be a toss-up, with the winner being key to determining which party will control the House. The 7th District comprises all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small section of Monroe.<\/p>\n

Ryan Mackenzie<\/p>\n

For 2025, Mackenzie for Congress<\/a> raised $2,577,819 and spent $850,071.<\/p>\n

For the final quarter of 2025, Mackenzie received $651,877 and spent $253,352.<\/p>\n

During that period, individual contributions totaled $240,282, political action committees, $138,400, and transfers from authorized fundraising committees, $264,320.<\/p>\n

Major contributors included David Jaindl, Orefield, owner of Jaindl Farms ($7,000); Andrew C. Taylor, president of Enterprise Rent-A-Car ($3,500); Catherine Wright, Emmaus ($3,500); Stacey Seibel, husband of software developer Tom Siebel, of Redwood City, Calif. ($7,000); Clarence Werner, chairman emeritus of Werner Enterprises trucking company ($7,000); Jay D. Bergman, Petco Petroleum Corp. executive ($7,000); Lorenzo Joseph Fertitta, vice chairman, Red Rock Resorts, Las Vegas, and Frank J. Fertitta III, CEO, Station Casinos, Las Vegas ($7,000 each).<\/p>\n

Transfers from authorized committees included $57,862 from Mackenzie for America, an affiliated fundraising committee; $57,340 from Defend Our Majority, a joint fundraising committee of four dozen campaign committees including Mackenzie for Congress; and $32,970 from Emmer Majority Builders, a joint fundraising committee of Majority Whip Tom Emmer.<\/p>\n

PAC support included Koch Industries Inc. PAC ($10,000); Maintaining American Competitiveness PAC, which is affiliated with Mackenzie ($5,500); American Israel Public Affairs Committee PAC ($5,000); Mountaineer PAC, affiliated with West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore ($5,000); Pennsylvania Honor, a leadership PAC of Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Dave McCormick ($5,000); TKJ PAC, affiliated with New Jersey Congressman Tom Kean Jr. ($5,000); SEAL PAC Supporting Electing American Leaders PAC, affiliated with Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke ($7,500).<\/p>\n

Friends of Milou Mackenzie, the campaign committee for his mother and state representative, gave $1,000.<\/p>\n

Ryan Crosswell<\/p>\n

Ryan Crosswell, a former federal prosecutor who entered the race in June, raised a total of $1,144,864 in 2025 from individuals and committees, according to a campaign finance report filed by Crosswell for Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He brought in $443,757 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. His contributions for the last three months of 2025 were higher than what he listed in the October quarterly report ($380,128) and July quarterly report ($320,979).<\/p>\n

The bulk of Crosswell\u2019s 2025 contributions \u2013 $1,085,616 \u2013 came from individuals.<\/p>\n

Donors in the final quarter of 2025 included Douglas Donahue of Norwell, Mass. ($7,000); Beth Cohen of Bethlehem ($3,500); Susan Yee, internet entrepreneur and former COO of Twin County Cable ($1,000); Jesse Majcher of Brooklyn, N.Y. ($2,000); Colin Brown of Lighthouse Point, Fla. ($2,000); David Rozas of Baton Rouge, La. ($2,500), and attorney Joseph Fitzpatrick of Bethlehem ($500).<\/p>\n

Crosswell received $38,650 in authorized transfers from New Politics Next Mission Fund, including $22,221 on Dec. 31. The group aims to raise $20 million over the next four years to support candidates who prioritize American democracy. He also received $10,000 from the Crosspartisan PAC and $2,000 from the Duane Morris Government Committee.<\/p>\n

He spent $532,615 last year with half of that amount \u2013 $265,299 \u2013 occurring between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. The bulk of his expenses went toward payroll, advertising, media, consulting and operating costs.<\/p>\n

Bob Brooks<\/p>\n

Bob Brooks, a retired Bethlehem firefighter and president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, raised $609,957 in 2025. He brought in $301,698 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, according to Bob Brooks for Congress.<\/a> That was slightly less than the $308,259 he brought in between Aug. 26, when he announced his campaign, and Sept. 30.<\/p>\n

The bulk of his 2025 contributions \u2013 $502,707 \u2013 came from individuals. Donors over the final three months of last year included Deborah Willig of Philadelphia ($5,000) Avery Seavey of New York City ($3,500), and his wife, Jennifer Brooks of Nazareth ($3,500).<\/p>\n

Brooks brought in $103,750 from committees. That figure includes $64,750 raised between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. He had collected $39,000 between Aug. 26 and Oct. 1.<\/p>\n

The campaign committees of Democratic state Reps. Peter Schweyer (134th) and Mike Schlossberg (132nd) gave $1,000 each.<\/p>\n

PAC contributions in the last quarter of 2025 included Save Democracy PAC ($5,000); Congressional Progressive Caucus ($5,000); the International Association of Sheet Meal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers Political Action League ($2,500); Not So Old Fashioned PAC ($1,000); Pennsylvanians for the Disabled ($1,000), McKenzie River PAC ($1,000); and Defeat Extremists ($1,000).<\/p>\n

At least 25 firefighters contributed to his campaign, including Allentown firefighters Andrew Bausher ($300) and Jeremy Warmkessel ($100).<\/p>\n

Brooks spent $269,189 in 2025 with the bulk of his expenditures \u2013 $204,545 occurring between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31.<\/p>\n

Lamont McClure<\/p>\n

For 2025, Lamont McClure\u2019s campaign raised $480,616 and spent $193,026.<\/p>\n

Over the final three months of 2025, McClure for PA<\/a> raised $21,177, the least amount of money of the six candidates who filed campaign finance reports. McClure, a former Northampton County executive, spent $22,548 during that period.<\/p>\n

Most of the money came from individual donors, including Diana Morganelli, a real estate agent from Bethlehem ($1,500); Christopher Weiler, executive chairman of Weiler Abrasives Group, and Maureen Weiler, a consultant with the company ($2,500 each); and Jack Weiner, consultant with Northeast Business Consulting of Easton ($2,500).<\/p>\n

The only contribution from a political group was $500 from Friends of Stephen Baratta, the campaign committee of the county district attorney. McClure\u2019s loan of $200,000 from the third quarter of 2025 remains unpaid.<\/p>\n

Carol Obando-Derstine<\/p>\n

For 2025, the Carol for PA<\/a> campaign raised $431,919 and spent $308,411.<\/p>\n

For the final three months, Carol Obando-Derstone, a former PPL executive who was recruited to run by Wild, raised $100,625, including $81,374 from individuals and $12,600 from political committees. The campaign spent $104,630.<\/p>\n

Major contributors included David Meehan, a physician from Allentown ($5,000); Annette Cumming, Jackson, Wyoming, vice president of the Cumming Foundation ($3,500); Antoinette Turnquist, chief operations officer of public schools, and Katie Weitz, president of the Weitz Family Foundation, both of Omaha, Nebraska ($3,500 each). Money contributed to Carol for PA via EMILYs List, which supports Democratic pro-choice women candidates, totaled $8,630.<\/p>\n

Among the PACs that supported Obando-Derstine were DREAMPAC – Democrats Reshaping America ($1,000); Democrats Win Fund ($1,000); Elect Democratic Women ($5,000); Latino Victory Fund ($1,000); Leadership Opportunity Innovation Service PAC ($1,000); and PODER PAC ($2,500).<\/p>\n

Mark Pinsley<\/p>\n

Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley raised $125,194 in 2025, according to a report filed by Pinsley for Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He brought in $52,588 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. That amount was less than the $72,606 he raised between Aug. 4, when he entered the race, and Sept. 30.<\/p>\n

Among year-end donors were Barbara Pearl of New York City who gave him $3,500; Jeff Huggett of Minneapolis, Minn., who gave $1,000; and Todd Oppenheimer, who gave $1,000.<\/p>\n

Pinsley listed $75,177 in expenditures, mostly on advertising, consulting and operational costs. His campaign had a cash balance of $50,017 on Dec. 31 and debt in the amount of $1,567.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Armchair Lehigh Valley content is published on lehighvalleylive.com as part of a partnership with the website, which aims…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-103883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103883\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}