Brooks bests Mackenzie to flip PA-7 back to Democrats

In one of Pennsylvania’s – and the nation’s – most closely watched contests, Democrat Bob Brooks, the president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, leaned into his working-class message to oust first-term Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, seizing back Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District seat in the Lehigh Valley and notching Democrats a critical House seat. 

Not only did he win, Brooks won so decisively that he declared victory before any news outlet officially called the race – two hours after polls closed at 8 p.m., when he was leading by roughly 20 points with about 60% of votes counted. A half-hour later, when the Associated Press called the race for Brooks, he was leading 57% to 43% with 75% of votes counted. 

“We did it,” a triumphant Brooks told the crowd at ArtsQuest, a Bethlehem cultural center, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. In a nod to the current anti-establishment mood, he added: “We aren’t going down there to try and piece things back together where they were before. We’re going down to shake up the status quo, fight for working people, stop the bullshit and build something better from the ashes.”

The retired 20-year Bethlehem firefighter leveraged voter discontent over inflation and rising living costs to persuade voters to elect him over Mackenzie, who has supported President Donald Trump and his unpopular, inflation-causing Iran war. For his part, Mackenzie went after Brooks’ lawncare business and family affairs in a series of intensely negative ads that prompted the Democrat to pull out of the only planned debate at the last minute – and did nothing to slow his momentum.

Even before the race was officially called for his opponent, Mackenzie took to the podium at the Hyatt in Allentown to concede before a sea of downcast faces and American flag apparel. In a speech laced with gratitude for the people of the Lehigh Valley, where he was born and raised, the candidate noted that his loss was part of a blue wave of Democratic victories on election night – including a number of upsets.

“Tonight, without it goes without saying, we did not get the result that we were looking for … But it’s not just us. All across this country, we are seeing results that are not going to make a lot of us happy in this room,” Mackenzie told a packed room of supporters. “But if you go back 20 years, you see that these same cycles occur, and so there will be brighter days ahead … Nobody should give up the fight.”

Even in the notoriously swingy Lehigh Valley, it might have been an impossible fight this year, given Democratic momentum across the commonwealth. Brooks was the handpicked candidate of Gov. Josh Shapiro, who easily cruised to reelection, and U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio; before besting Mackenzie, a former six-term state representative, Brooks had beaten the former two-term Northampton County executive Lamont McClure on his way to Washington. 

He now assumes the seat occupied until 2025 by Democrat Susan Wild, who narrowly lost to Mackenzie during the 2024 “red wave” that swept President Donald Trump to victory.

What Brooks lacked in experience – this is his first run for office – he made up for in political skills honed over years of leadership with the state firefighters’ union, where he played a central role in advocating for state and federal labor policy. Meanwhile, throughout the contest, Mackenzie, the son of state Rep. Milou Mackenzie, was consistently rated among the most vulnerable members of Congress by the Cook Political Report and others. 

Brooks consistently polled ahead of Mackenzie in voter surveys that nonetheless showed a close race. A Muhlenberg College survey released on October 29 showed Brooks with a 49% to 43% lead over Mackenzie, with particularly strong support among women, college graduates and young people aged 18-34.

The expensive campaign – Brooks and Mackenzie each spent more than $3 million this cycle – also underscores Brooks’ consistent argument about the outsized influence of money in U.S. politics. Pushing back against that influence has long been among Brooks’ stated priorities if elected.

But it was momentum, along with money, that propelled the Nazareth firefighter to Washington – and left Lehigh Valley Republicans in a philosophical mood, at least to judge from the crowd at the Hyatt. 

Mackenzie made only brief remarks and left the podium with a smile. An hour later, to the wistful strains of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” dejected supporters still lingered at the tables over watery cocktails, shaking their heads as they scrolled through returns on their phones.