{"id":196543,"date":"2026-05-19T10:39:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T10:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/196543\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T10:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T10:39:10","slug":"allentown-primary-pits-insiders-against-firefighter-populist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/196543\/","title":{"rendered":"Allentown Primary Pits Insiders Against Firefighter Populist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Allentown, Pennsylvania, is the kind of place the national media brings up every now and then to talk about the troubles of the working class. That\u2019s for good reason: the city is a great stand-in for America\u2019s blue-collar blues. Billy Joel even wrote a song about it. The same goes for neighboring Bethlehem, which once was home to the largest steelmaking operation in the world. That operation shuttered in 2003 and was replaced by a development.<\/p>\n

No doubt the Lehigh valley has seen better days. But it\u2019s not all in the rear view. In fact, this week this blue-collar bastion could decide the future of the Democratic party.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s seventh congressional district is among the most competitive in the country. In the last election only one percentage point separated Democrat Susan Wild (49.5%) and Republican Ryan Mackenzie (50.5%). Just over 4,000 votes made the difference. As a result, the Democratic party primary here has drawn national attention and the outcome has national implications: will Democrats embrace a blue-collar populism, or stick with the political insiders and liberal institutionalists that have failed the party in the past?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Democratic<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The candidates are instructive. First, there\u2019s Lamont McClure Jr. McClure served two terms as the elected Northampton county executive. He\u2019s a lawyer. His father was the executive director of the Carbon County Housing Authority.<\/p>\n

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