Bob Brooks has worked many jobs throughout his life: newspaper deliverer, truck driver, factory worker, bartender, landscaper, firefighter and union leader.<\/p>\n
His next job is in the hands of voters, but if he gets his way, it will be U.S. congressman, representing the Lehigh Valley and Poconos area.<\/p>\n
Brooks used his blue-collar credentials and wide breadth of support from the Democratic Party \u2014 including the endorsement of Gov. Josh Shapiro \u2014 to cruise to victory in a crowded May primary against three other qualified opponents.<\/a><\/p>\n Now comes the hard part. He is up against Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican incumbent who has thus far out-fundraised Brooks in what promises to be a very tight race. The district is considered a \u201ctoss-up\u201d by Cook Political Report<\/a>, and is widely considered to be one of the handful of House elections that will determine which party takes control of the chamber in 2027.<\/p>\n The Morning Call recently sat down with both candidates to discuss the election, their priorities and why they think they\u2019re the best candidate to represent the Lehigh Valley. The news organization also will be asking both candidates to submit columns on their stances on topics including affordability, immigration, technology and development, and foreign affairs. Those will publish in October.<\/p>\n Brooks said he hopes he can use voters\u2019 anger at Trump and thirst for political change as fuel to bring him to victory in November.<\/p>\n Ryan Mackenzie touts first-term accomplishments in reelection bid. Is it enough to win Lehigh Valley\u2019s battleground district?<\/a><\/p>\n Working-class roots<\/p>\n Brooks\u2019 first job was delivering newspapers in hometown of North Adams, Massachusetts, at 10 years old: \u201cI had a 2-mile route that I had to handle, wind, rain or snow,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n In high school, he delivered pizzas, worked at a factory and did whatever he could do to help him and his single mom get by; they relied on food stamps and lived in public housing during periods in order to stay afloat, he has said.<\/p>\n During his senior year of high school, he and his mother lost their home in a fire. They relocated to Nazareth, where his grandparents were located, and started their lives over.<\/p>\n That experience is part of what motivated him to choose a career in firefighting after graduating high school. He began as a volunteer firefighter for Hecktown Volunteer Fire Company while continuing to work as a bartender and truck driver before being recruited to the Bethlehem Fire Department.<\/p>\n \u201cI got an opportunity to become a city Bethlehem firefighter, and that\u2019s the best thing that\u2019s happened in my life at this point, outside of my children and my grandchildren,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n He was quickly thrust into union leadership at the Bethlehem department simply because the union needed a shift vice president, and he was willing to step up and serve. Having been represented by a union while working as a truck driver, he felt the benefits of having a collective bargaining agreement that provided benefits and protections for workers.<\/p>\n Throughout his 20 years on the force, he said he served \u201cnearly every\u201d position in International Association of Fire Fighters Local 735 before joining the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association in 2021, where he is now president.<\/p>\n It was there that Brooks wet his feet in the world of politics and legislation. He lobbied both in Harrisburg and Washington on behalf of pro-firefighter and union workers, and counts among his wins expanding the definition of post-traumatic stress injury in Pennsylvania, entitling more firefighters to workers\u2019 compensation; extending a national program that helps the families of first responders who die of occupational cancer; and pushing for a bill in Congress that would provide mortgage assistance to first responders, helping them to afford to buy a home.<\/p>\n Via his lobbying work for the union, he built relationships with prominent figures like Shapiro and Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-17th District, who recruited him to run for Congress.<\/p>\n Brooks\u2019 message to voters<\/p>\n Brooks and his supporters frequently like to remind voters that he does not look like your typical politician. He doesn\u2019t have a college degree, speaks openly about relying on social services, and criticizes Washington politicians for being \u201cout of touch\u201d with working class people.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve lived in public housing, I\u2019ve relied on food stamps when times were hard, I had to choose between paying the medical bills and paying the mortgage,\u201d Brooks said in a recent campaign speech. \u201cRegular people are getting tired of getting kicked in the teeth. What\u2019s happening in Washington right now is not working for us. It\u2019s time to send them a message.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s that working-class background that prompted Brooks to center his campaign around affordability \u2014 not to mention the fact that high prices are polling as the No. 1 voter concern before the November midterms.<\/a><\/p>\n He has positioned himself firmly as a progressive candidate, pushing for policies that just a few years ago were to the left of the Democratic Party platform, including \u201cMedicare for All,\u201d for which Brooks is a staunch advocate. Those stances helped him earn the support of progressive groups including the Working Families Party and Make the Road.<\/p>\n Other key components of his platform include increasing taxes on the richest Americans, repealing Citizens United via a constitutional amendment, and implementing term limits and banning stock trading for members of Congress.<\/p>\n Brooks\u2019 persona and approach could help win over voters who are disillusioned with the Democratic Party and largely backed Trump and other Republicans during past election cycles, Brooks supporters believe. Less than 2% of Congress comes from a working-class background<\/a>, so Brooks, if elected, would join just a small fraction of legislators who understand what it means to struggle financially.<\/p>\n But his unpolished and everyman nature has also brought some stains to his campaign that his opponent has tried to exploit. Most recently, a Northampton County judge ruled that an ongoing lawsuit against Brooks by his former mother-in-law, claiming that he defrauded her and failed to pay a $130,000 judgment against him over a property ownership dispute, can proceed, despite his legal efforts to get the case dismissed.<\/p>\n Brooks, at an April debate, called the legal dispute a \u201cjoke,\u201d and noted that his ex-wife is supporting him in the ongoing lawsuit and has endorsed his run for office.<\/p>\n The ongoing lawsuit is one of many attacks Mackenzie\u2019s campaign has waged against Brooks, some of which have been reported in right-wing news outlets \u2014 including that Brooks failed to secure workers\u2019 compensation insurance for his lawn care business, and that Brooks\u2019 salary increased while spending on the union decreased during his tenure as PFFA president.<\/p>\n \u201cBehind the glossy ads and the everyman brand, Bob Brooks has all the hallmarks of a common criminal,\u201d said Andres Weller, Mackenzie\u2019s campaign manager.<\/p>\n Brooks called the stories \u201call untrue,\u201d without providing more specifics, and pointed to his criticisms of Mackenzie\u2019s voting record.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the playbook, they can\u2019t stand on our own voting record, as far as the Republicans and Ryan Mackenzie. So once they can\u2019t do that, their only thing is to try and come after your character,\u201d Brooks said.<\/p>\n Brooks\u2019 case against Mackenzie<\/p>\n Just as much as Brooks is aiming to run on his own qualifications as a union leader with experience pushing for pro-worker legislation, he also needs to make his case against Mackenzie, the well-funded incumbent.<\/p>\n The easy part will be pointing to widespread disapproval of the president: Trump\u2019s approval rating is at a record low, according to polling compiled by The Economist, with just 35% approval and 60% disapproval<\/a>. Although Trump is not on the ballot, midterm elections traditionally are seen by voters as a referendum on the president\u2019s performance, and Mackenzie has largely not strayed from Trump\u2019s platform.<\/p>\n Specifically, Brooks has pointed to his opponent\u2019s votes in favor of the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill,\u201d which made cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food benefits via stricter requirements and are expected to cause 5 million to 10 million people to lose access to health insurance; and Mackenzie\u2019s unwillingness to support any efforts to rein in the war in Iran, which has contributed to the skyrocketing costs of gasoline, diesel and fertilizer.<\/p>\n \u201cI can point to, hey, what are the gas prices right now? [Mackenzie] voted for it. Hey, how is that person losing her healthcare? [Mackenzie] voted for it. So I have legitimate stuff \u2014 they have completely made-up things,\u201d Brooks said in response to Mackenzie\u2019s attacks on his background. \u201cWe\u2019ve addressed multiple times within the media, outside the media. You know, I\u2019m not afraid of them, because they are all untrue, and they\u2019ll be proven. But this is all he has.\u201d<\/p>\n Democrats want to capitalize on anger at Republicans, but it will be no easy feat for a party that remains historically unpopular with voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brooks is also at a significant fundraising disadvantage: Mackenzie had nearly $3 million in cash on hand as of the end of June, compared with Brooks, who had just over $1 million. Even though Brooks outraised Mackenzie in the latest quarterly fundraising report<\/a>, bringing in around $1.3 million from March through June, he also spent nearly half a million in that same time period during his competitive four-way primary.<\/p>\n Mackenzie was unopposed in his own party\u2019s primary, so was able to hang onto much of his war chest in preparation for the general election.<\/p>\n