Bob Brooks receives Working Families Party endorsement in PA-7 race

The congressional primary in the Lehigh Valley is heating up. 

Bob Brooks, a Bethlehem firefighter and the president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, received an endorsement for his congressional bid from the progressive Working Families Party on Tuesday. 

Brooks, who’s received endorsements from the likes of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, is one of several Democratic candidates looking to unseat freshman U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie. 

“Bob is the perfect example of a person we should be sending to D.C. because it’s time to elect real working-class leadership to Congress,” Nick Gavio, mid-Atlantic communications director for the Working Families Party, said in a statement. “We deserve representatives who come from the working class and will stand up for the working class, and that’s what Bob has done for his entire life and career. In Congress, he’ll fight to raise the minimum wage, tax billionaires to fund programs that benefit workers, and get big money and corporate interests out of our politics.”

Brooks is in a crowded Democratic primary field that includes former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, energy engineer and former Bob Casey staffer Carol Obando-Derstine, former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, perennial local candidate Lewis Shupe and newcomer Aiden Gonzalez. 

Mackenzie, a Republican state legislator-turned-congressperson, defeated three-term Democrat U.S. Rep. Susan Wild by a single point in 2024 in one of the closest battleground districts not only in the commonwealth but across the country. The district comprises Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, plus a sliver of Monroe County.

Democrats have been lining up to take their shot at Mackenzie, including Brooks, who’s pushed his pro-union, working people-focused platform since the start of his campaign in August. 

“My entire career has been devoted to fighting for my members – for better healthcare, fairer wages, and safety on the job,” Brooks said in a statement. “I want to do the same for every person in PA-07. In Washington, I’ll stand up to the corporate interests and billionaire class that have rigged our politics for too long. 

“The Working Families Party has been a valued partner to organized labor since day one – fighting for benefits like paid family leave and making sure working people have a seat at the table. If we’re going to flip seats like this one, we need to build an unapologetically pro-worker, pro-union coalition. This is how we do it.”