PA-7 Dem candidates meet for televised debate in Jim Thorpe

In an earnest and eminently civil debate on Thursday in Jim Thorpe, the Democrats competing to challenge Republican incumbent Ryan McKenzie for the commonwealth’s Seventh Congressional District seat showed little disagreement on matters of substance – or anything else.

Bob Brooks, the president of the Pennsylvania Fire Fighters Association and the choice of Gov. Josh Shapiro, leaned into his identity as the hardworking everyman who champions – and can win over – blue-collar voters. Lamont McClure, Northampton County’s former two-term executive, touted his environmental record – a key issue as Lehigh Valley confronts a surge of data centers – and his fluency with local budget issues.  

Colombia-born Carol Obando-Derstine emphasized the utility of her longtime energy-engineer experience in considering data centers, as well as her firsthand experiences with affordability, immigration and Latino community advocacy. And former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell missed no opportunity to return the conversation to his preferred themes of political integrity – he resigned over official corruption – and federal experience.

Moderator Kim Bell – the general manager of Blue Ridge Communications TV-13, which aired the debate – posed a range of questions, some submitted by the audience, that solicited reflections on topics as varied as support for Ukraine (McClure is in favor), the proliferation of data centers (for which no candidate expressed enthusiasm), accountability (all agreed that President Donald Trump – and those he pardons – need more of it), and the proposed federal SAVE Act (nobody was a fan of the GOP plan to impose voter documentation requirements).

As the only candidate with previous political experience, McClure had the advantage of recounting concrete district accomplishments – and backing them up with numbers, like his promises not to raise taxes and to preserve area farmland. “One of the things I did before leaving as county executive was study how much our green investments – which during my time, was $25 million … returned to the GDP of just Northampton County, and that turned out to be $485 million a year,” he said.

McClure also challenged Brooks, his closest rival – the two have alternated at the top of recent polls – on consistency. “My friend Bob Brooks has changed his fundamental positions on things like guns, on the ability to protest, and finally, on Barack Obama,” he said, citing examples of Brooks’ past social media posts.

But Brooks countered with his own policy accomplishments, including successful advocacy for bills expanding workers’ protections and benefits. “I’m the only candidate in this race,” he said, who has been involved “in past legislation in both Harrisburg and Washington, DC."

For her part, Obando-Derstine, a former senior adviser to Sen. Bob Casey, hewed to the theme of her campaign – that, beyond her professional record, her biography gives her unique insights into key issues. 

“I stand out in some significant ways: I am the only working mom who paid more for child care than my mortgage, who had a high-risk pregnancy – and knows how dangerous and costly it can be when politicians try to politicize our health care,” she said.

As an immigrant, she pledged to fight the president’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics while advocating to reform the system, asking: “Who better than someone who lived it?” 

Reform was also the preferred theme for Crosswell, who saw evidence of corruption while investigating abuses of official power at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section. 

“I am someone Donald Trump intentionally got rid of. This is an opportunity for you to send one of the public servants that he got rid of back to Congress,” said the former prosecutor, whose DOJ unit was effectively gutted by the Trump administration.

Crosswell also offered concrete ideas to reform American voting – including making Election Day a national holiday, extending the voting period for 10 days prior to an election and increasing election access in rural areas and near college campuses and public transit.

Where possible, the candidates took pains to emphasize their local roots. Crosswell, a Pottsville native, mused that he might have wrestled as a teenager right there in the Jim Thorpe Area High School gym.

And McClure pointed out that while Mackenzie won his seat thanks largely to a 70-30 sweep of Carbon County, the Northampton politician would be far less vulnerable locally than Mackenzie’s Democratic predecessor, former U.S. Rep. Susan Wild.

“I grew up in Carbon County, a 1988 graduate of Weatherly Area High School,” McClure said. “He won’t beat me here 70-30 – and he’ll be a one-term congressman.”