\n Crosswell, the fundraising leader in the race, noted at a recent debate that he\u2019s brought in more money than his opponents \u201cwithout riding anyone\u2019s coattails.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/02-2025-12-18t110223z-263767058-rc25fiae4enj-rtrmadp-3-usa-election-workers.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Patty Carlis, a Democratic volunteer from Bethlehem who is leaning toward Crosswell, said she was put off by Brooks\u2019 emphasis on his endorsements.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI want to hear somebody tell me what they\u2019re going to do as a congressperson, who they are as individuals, and what they see as the problems,\u201d Carlis said.\n <\/p>\n
\n She said she\u2019s eager to support Shapiro\u2019s re-election bid, but wished the governor \u201chad more faith in the Democratic voters, that we will pick the person who is the best person to represent us\u201d in the US House primary.\n <\/p>\n
\n Shapiro said in a statement that Brooks has \u201calways had my back\u201d and he\u2019s \u201cproud to endorse him in this race and stand with him in the fight to make life more affordable.\u201d The governor has said he got to know Brooks when the union leader lobbied state lawmakers to pass benefits for firefighters.\n <\/p>\n
\n Some Brooks critics have pointed to his history of posting right-wing memes on social media. After a gunman killed 23 people in El Paso in 2019, Brooks posted a meme with an image of Clint Eastwood that said: \u201cThe problem is not guns. It\u2019s hearts without God, homes without discipline, schools without prayer and courtrooms without justice.\u201d The post, which was obtained by CNN and written about by local political blogs last year, included a logo associated with the Three Percenters, an anti-government extremist militia group.\n <\/p>\n
\n In a statement to CNN, Brooks apologized for some of his past posts and asked voters in the district to judge him on his record of service. He said he\u2019s been a Democrat throughout his adulthood.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cPolitics is nasty \u2013 a bunch of DC insiders who don\u2019t want more working people in office are selectively digging up years-old Facebook posts,\u201d he said in the statement. \u201cI\u2019ve shared a few stupid things over the years, and for that I am sorry. I believe who I\u2019ve fought for and my values have always been clear.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Some Latino leaders also say Brooks hasn\u2019t done enough to introduce himself to their community. The district is 23% Latino; Allentown, the largest city in Lehigh County, is about 56% Latino. Brooks\u2019 allies, including Allentown\u2019s first Latino mayor, Matt Tuerk, say that he\u2019s been attending Latino events in the community.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Bob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/03-gettyimages-2266238098.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Victor Martinez, a radio station owner who lives in the district, wrote an opinion piece earlier this year arguing Shapiro had \u201csent the wrong message\u201d and suggested the governor was motivated by a desire to win favor with the firefighters\u2019 union. Shapiro\u2019s office soon reached out, Martinez said, and the governor explained on air that his endorsement was \u201cpersonal,\u201d not political.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe reason why I stepped up to support Bob is because I believe in him,\u201d Shapiro said on Martinez\u2019s show, \u201cEl Relajo de la Ma\u00f1ana.\u201d \u201cI know we may be on different sides of this, but I think we can both agree that whoever emerges from the primary, we\u2019re going to be 100% in for them, and they have to beat Ryan Mackenzie.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n As far as the primary is concerned, the two have agreed to disagree.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a little bit of political gambling that the governor did, especially in a year that he\u2019s running for reelection,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cBut I appreciate him not being afraid and just saying, \u2018Hey, if he loses, he loses. I think he\u2019s going to win, and I\u2019m all in.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Brooks supporters argue his profile as a working-class everyman who has been a firefighter, a bartender, and now runs a snow removal and lawn care business makes him the best positioned to reach the voters who narrowly handed the seat to Republicans last cycle.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cBob has a really important skill in politics, which is turning a prospective weakness into a strength,\u201d said state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, who has endorsed Brooks. \u201cHe spoke about the fact that he knows what it\u2019s like, personally, to be behind in your mortgage and to have financial difficulties, and he can talk to those people with more credibility than I think anybody else in the field can.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n The Cook Political Report has rated the 7th District a toss-up, along with the 8th District, where Bresnahan will likely face Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, and the 10th District, where Perry is likely to face a rematch against former local news anchor Janelle Stelson.\n <\/p>\n
\n The 1st District, where Democratic Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie is challenging Fitzpatrick, is rated likely Republican.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI look at Fitzpatrick as probably the toughest to beat, but eventually you run out of luck,\u201d said Mike Mikus, a Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist. \u201cYou just can\u2019t hold on anymore when you\u2019re swimming against the tide.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Republicans are optimistic they\u2019ll hold at least some of the four seats.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI would say good luck,\u201d Chris Pack, a Republican strategist who runs a super PAC backing Fitzpatrick, said of Democrats\u2019 odds in the four races.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/04-gettyimages-2250492268.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Fitzpatrick, a five-term incumbent and former FBI agent, kept his seat during the 2018 Democratic wave and in 2024, when former Vice President Kamala Harris carried his district even as Trump won statewide.\n <\/p>\n
\n Democrats have pointed to their wins in 2025 in Bucks County, which encompasses most of the district. Harvie has argued he\u2019s a stronger candidate than past challengers because he\u2019s from the district and has been elected countywide in 2019 and 2023.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cI had somebody ask recently, \u2018How am I going to get the people who vote for Fitzpatrick to vote for me?\u2019\u201d Harvie said. \u201cAnd my answer was, \u2018I already have.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Shapiro has endorsed Cognetti and Stelson and is expected to endorse Harvie soon, according to two sources familiar with the governor\u2019s plans.\n <\/p>\n
\n Rep. Chris DeLuzio, a Pennsylvania Democrat, praised the governor for leaning in on the races.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cJosh Shapiro has been a great partner for me and others who are trying to take back the House,\u201d DeLuzio said. \u201cI know, as does he, that the majority could run through Pennsylvania.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has his way, the Democratic path to winning back the US House will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":{"0":"post-174754","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-pennsylvania","9":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","10":"tag-pennsylvania-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174754","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=174754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}