{"id":115962,"date":"2026-02-17T11:34:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115962\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T11:34:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T11:34:24","slug":"dems-running-in-7th-line-up-seasoned-campaign-teams-key-endorsements-armchair-lehigh-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/115962\/","title":{"rendered":"Dems running in 7th line up seasoned campaign teams, key endorsements | Armchair 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

Bob Brooks, the 7th Congressional District candidate, made headlines last year when his campaign hired a high-profile strategist<\/a> that helped elect Zohran Mamdani New York City mayor and landed the expected public endorsement of Gov. Josh Shapiro.<\/p>\n

But what about his Democratic primary opponents? They also have hired experienced political consultants and collected impressive endorsements, a review of their campaigns shows.<\/p>\n

With three months until the May 19 primary, the Democratic candidates are ramping up activity in the race to determine who will face first-term Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie in November. Tuesday, Feb. 17, marks a critical step as candidates begin collecting the required 1,000 signatures to get on the primary ballot.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Mackenzie defeated three-term incumbent Susan Wild by 1 percentage point, one of the narrowest GOP victories that year. Mackenzie\u2019s victory helped Republicans retain control of the House.<\/p>\n

For this year, political analysts again consider the 7th District, which comprises all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small part of Monroe, a toss-up and key to which party controls the House.<\/p>\n

The other Democratic candidates are Ryan Crosswell; Carol Derstine-Obando; former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure; Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley; Aiden Gonzalez, vice president of Lehigh Valley Young Democrats; and Lewis Shupe, a self-described \u201crenegade Democrat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Information about the candidates\u2019 campaign strategists and endorsements came from the campaigns and their websites, social media posts, LinkedIn profiles and campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n

Lamont McClure<\/p>\n

Lamont McClure, then Northampton County executive, was the first candidate to announce in February 2025. He decided to run for Congress instead of seeking reelection in 2025 to a third term.<\/p>\n

McClure, who served seven years on county council before his election as county executive, was a lawyer who represented steelworkers and others seeking compensation for developing cancer after working with asbestos<\/p>\n

Northampton County Executive McClure will fight for working class if elected to Congress<\/a><\/p>\n

Campaign team:<\/p>\n

Campaign manager Madison Palmer left in August to take a job with New Jersey Democratic congressional candidate Rebecca Bennett. McClure said a replacement will begin soon after her maternity leave ends.Jon Vogel, a former executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a founding partner of\u00a0MVAR Media<\/a>, which specializes in television, digital and radio advertising.Elizabeth Sena, a senior partner of\u00a0GQR<\/a>, a 100% woman-owned political operation, has worked on campaigns nationwide, including in Pennsylvania the congressional campaigns for Wild, former Rep. Matt Cartwright and Rep. Summer Lee and Gov. Tom Wolf\u2019s successful 2018 reelection.Michael Davies, who previously worked for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, is a partner at\u00a0GDA Wins<\/a>, a direct mail and digital advertising firm that has worked for Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations.<\/p>\n

Endorsements include:<\/p>\n

County executives Josh Siegel (Lehigh) and Tara Zrinski (Northampton); former executives Phil Armstrong (Lehigh) and Glenn Reibman and Gerald Seyfried (both Northampton).County commissioners Ken Kraft, Jeff Warren and Kelly Keegan (Northampton) and Rocky Ahner (Carbon).Former county officials Ron Heckman (Northampton commissioner); Gary Dobias and Jean Engler (Carbon district attorneys).T.J. Rooney, former state Democratic Party chair and a former state representative from the Lehigh Valley; former state Rep. and Speaker of the House Keith McCall (Carbon); Phil Davis, senior pastor of Greater Shiloh Church of Easton; Baron Vanderburg, chairman of the Northampton County Black Caucus.Mayors Sal Panto (Easton) and Lance Colondo (Nazareth); Robert Donchez (former Bethlehem mayor).City council members Ken Brown, Crystal Rose and Frank Pintabone Jr. (Easton); Bryan Callahan, Michael Colon and Rachel Leon (Bethlehem).Local officials: Susan Lawless and Jean Versteeg (supervisors, Hanover Township, Northampton County); Judy Haldeman (Northampton Borough councilwoman); Priscilla deLeon, Victoria Opthof-Cordaro and Laura Ray (Lower Saucon Township councilmembers); Jeff Young (former Palmer Township supervisor); DeAnn Lawrence (Bethlehem Township commissioner); Daniel Chiavaroli (Nazareth Borough council); Jessica Cope (North Catasauqua Borough council).More than 50 union locals and labor leaders representing Teamsters, roofers, plumbers, painters, electrical and sheet metal workers.Carol Obando-Derstine<\/p>\n

Carol Obando-Derstine, who became the second candidate in May, was recruited by former Rep. Susan Wild. Obando-Derstine worked as executive director of Skills Council USA, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey\u2019s regional manager and statewide Latino affairs adviser and in supervisory roles as an engineer with PPL Electric Utilities. She resigned her PPL job to run for Congress.<\/p>\n

Democrat Carol Obando-Derstine enters 7th Congressional District race<\/a><\/p>\n

Campaign team:<\/p>\n

Sarah Green, campaign manager; campaign manager for unsuccessful Virginia House delegate Randall Critzer in 2025.Blueprint Interactive<\/a>, which describes itself as \u201ca woman, minority owned firm\u201d that has worked for Democratic causes, organizations and candidates, including Wild and the successful Virginia congressional and gubernatorial campaigns of Victoria Spanberger.<\/p>\n

Endorsements include:<\/p>\n

California Congressmen Tony Cardenas and Raul Ruiz.EMILYs List<\/a>, which supports Democratic pro-choice women candidates;\u00a03.14 Action<\/a>, which assists Democratic science and engineering candidates;\u00a0PODER PAC<\/a>, which supports pro-choice Latina candidates;\u00a0Elect Democratic Women<\/a>;\u00a0Latino Victory Fund<\/a>.Square One<\/a>, which aids congressional campaigns of Democratic women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.Congressional Hispanic Caucus Bold PAC\u00a0<\/a>and personal endorsements from caucus members \u2013 U.S. Reps. Nanette Barragan and Linda Sanchez (both of California), Andrea Salinas (Oregon) and Veronica Escobar (Texas).City officials: Christian Pungo (Allentown Council); Hillary Kwiatek (Bethlehem Council); Eddie Moran (Reading mayor).School board members Bill Whitney (East Penn); Kim Jaramillo and Luis Melecio (Southern Lehigh); Christine Stofko (Nazareth Area).State Reps. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, chair of the PA Latino Caucus, and Danilo Burgos, former caucus chair.Former officials: Jane Ervin (Lehigh County executive); Allyson Schwartz (former Philadelphia area congresswoman).Rev. Greg Edwards, founder and senior pastor of the Resurrected Life Community Church, Allentown; Victor J. Martinez, owner of Lehigh Valley\u2019s Spanish radio station La Mega 101.7 FM; Liz Bradbury and Trish Sullivan, co-founders of the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, Allentown.<\/p>\n

J Street PAC<\/a>, which supports candidates \u201ccommitted to pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy policies,\u201d gave Obando-Derstine a \u201cprimary approved\u201d designation. A PAC spokesman said the designation is given to candidates in a competitive primary and allows them to receive contributions via the PAC\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

Ryan Crosswell<\/p>\n

A federal prosecutor for about 17 years, Ryan Croswell made national news when he resigned in 2025 from the U.S. Justice Department\u2019s Public Integrity Section over the decision to drop federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.<\/p>\n

Crosswell, a native of Schuylkill County. a Marine veteran and a former Republican, moved to Allentown last year and became the third candidate in June.<\/p>\n

Former DOJ trial attorney enters 7th Congressional District race<\/a><\/p>\n

Campaign team:<\/p>\n

Nick Mattes, campaign manager; more than a dozen years experience in politics, including managing John Sullivan\u2019s New York congressional campaign and serving as research director for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee focusing on Pennsylvania candidates, including Wild.Arrowhead Strategies<\/a>, a political consulting and fundraising firm whose president, Brittany Grimm, previously served as national finance director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.North Shore Strategies<\/a>, which has worked with candidates in New York and various states including Pennsylvania.SB Digital<\/a>, a fundraising consultant, which has worked for progressive causes and Democratic candidates.GMMB<\/a>, a media company that has created ads for federal and state candidates, for presidents (including Barack Obama and Joe Biden), governors (including Shapiro), U.S. senators (including Fetterman) and members of Congress (including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries).<\/p>\n

Endorsements include:<\/p>\n

VoteVets<\/a>, which supports Democratic candidates who served in the military.New Politics<\/a>, which identifies and supports and raises funds for candidates who served in the military or in public service.Democratic Majority Action<\/a>, a PAC founded by former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath and a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate from Kentucky.Crosspartisan PAC I<\/a>, which contributes to Democratic candidates \u201cwho will lead with integrity, civility, and courage\u201d.U.S. Rep. Derek Tran from California and Alexander Vindman, who testified about President Trump\u2019s \u201cquid pro quo\u201d phone call in 2019 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Tran and Vindman, now a U.S. Senate candidate in Florida, are veterans.Local officials: Julien Godbarge (Upper Macungie Township supervisor); Taylor Stakes (Whitehall Township commissioner); Jon Macklin (Parkland School Board member); Chris Sykora (Southern Lehigh School Board member); Ira Jolley (Monroe County treasurer).Mark Pinsley<\/p>\n

Mark Pinsley, in the middle of his second term as Lehigh County Controller, in August became the fourth candidate.<\/p>\n

A businessman and a veteran, he previously served as a South Whitehall Township commissioner and ran unsuccessfully for state auditor general and state senator.<\/p>\n

Mark Pinsley explains why he\u2019s 4th Democrat in 7th Congressional District race<\/a><\/p>\n

Campaign team:<\/p>\n

Mark McLaurin, with more than 30 years experience in politics, is general consultant for the campaign until a campaign manager is hired.Lake Research Partners<\/a>, a national public opinion and political strategy research firm founded by Celinda Lake in 1995 that works with clients \u201cto advance progressive ideals\u201d; Lake was one of the leading pollsters in Joe Biden\u2019s successful 2020 presidential campaign and has worked for the Democratic National Committee and Democratic candidates, including U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Jen Burton and Bobby Gravitz from\u00a0SWAY<\/a>, a multimedia company based that has produced ads and other content for federal, state and local candidates, unions and state ballot questions.<\/p>\n

Endorsements include:<\/p>\n

Patriotic Millionaires<\/a>.Democratic Socialists of America<\/a>.Progressive Democrats of America<\/a>Lehigh County Commissioner Jon Irons, whose campaign committee contributed $500 to Pinsley for Congress.Bob Brooks<\/p>\n

Brooks, who became the fifth Democratic candidate in August, is a retired Bethlehem firefighter, former local union official and president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association.<\/p>\n

Bob Brooks becomes 5th Democratic candidate seeking to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie<\/a><\/p>\n

Campaign team:<\/p>\n

Jenna Kaufman, campaign manager; served as campaign manager for the reelection in 2024 of Ohio Congressman Greg Landsman.Fight Agency<\/a>, which formed in January 2025 and was instrumental in Mamdani\u2019s New York City mayoral victory in November. Principals include people who previously worked on successful U.S. Senate campaigns for Pennsylvania\u2019s John Fetterman (2020) and Arizona\u2019s Ruben Gallego (2024) and the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (2016); created ads for Joe Biden presidential campaign (2020). The firm is also working for Democratic Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti\u2019s 8th Congressional District campaign.Ascend Digital Strategies<\/a>\u00a0bills itself as a \u201cpremier Democratic digital strategy firm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Endorsements include:<\/p>\n

Gov. Shapiro; Lt. Gov. Austin Davis; former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Sanders; U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio (from western Pennsylvania), Jamie Raskin (Maryland) and Ro Khanna (California); Arizona U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego.More than three dozen state lawmakers, including two from the Lehigh Valley, Reps. Mike Schlossberg and Peter Schweyer; Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk.More than a dozen unions representing Teamsters, sheet metal workers, machinists, steamfitters and communication workers.The Bench<\/a>, which says it is \u201cbuilding the next generation of Democratic leaders by recruiting and supporting great candidates in tough districts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooks also received J Street PAC<\/a>\u2019s \u201cprimary approved\u201d designation.<\/p>\n

Aiden Gonzalez<\/p>\n

Aiden Gonzalez, vice president of Lehigh Valley Young Democrats, announced his candidacy in early January, becoming the sixth candidate.<\/p>\n

Sixth Democrat enters 7th Congressional District race<\/a><\/p>\n

Asked in an email about his campaign team, he said, \u201cI\u2019ll fill those roles when I find someone I think would do them effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lewis Shupe<\/p>\n

Lewis Shupe described himself as a \u201drenegade Democrat\u201d earlier this month when he became the seventh candidate in the field.<\/p>\n

7th Congressional District race grows to seven Democratic candidates<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2024, Shupe filed to run as an independent candidate in the 7th Congressional District but never got on the ballot.<\/p>\n

Asked in an email about his current campaign, he replied, \u201cIn short I do have a small but growing staff and will be hosting some events in the near future. And I am actively working on both fundraising and endorsements.\u201d<\/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":115963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":{"0":"post-115962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115962","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=115962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}