The 7th Congressional District covers all of Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties and a portion of Monroe County.
In her fourth bid for re-election, Congresswoman Susan Wild is being challenged by Pennsylvania’s District 187 Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the contested race for the Lehigh Valley seat.
State Rep. Mackenzie won the April primary against Kevin Dellicker and Maria Montero with 42% of the vote, where he was the only candidate to express support for protecting fertility treatments IVF. He is currently the minority chair of the House Labor and Industry Committee and co-chair of the House Intelligence Relations Caucus in the state house. Before becoming a state legislator in 2012, he was the policy director at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. With this background in labor, he has advocated for workforce development and tax reform, along with healthcare and education reforms.
While in Congress, she has served as the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Ethics and Vice Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. Recently, she claimed she was ranked by the Lugar Center in the top ten of bipartisan members of Congress, while the group has her ranked at 109, according to their scorecard. Earlier this month, leaked texts were released that allegedly show union members being offered $100 to attend one of her rallies.
Some see Pennsylvania’s 7th district as a national indicator of where voters fall politically in suburban and rural communities. With the state up for grabs in the presidential and senate races, this district is listed as a “Democrat Toss Up”, according to Cook Political Report.
A July poll by the Virginia-based Republican strategic research and polling firm The Tarrance Group showed Wild with 47% of the vote from likely voters and 45% for Mackenzie with a margin of error of +/-4.9%. The same poll found former President Donald Trump at 48% and Vice President Kamala Harris at 46%.
When asked about the survey, Mackenzie’s campaign issued a statement saying, “The poll shows a close race, but it also explains why Susan Wild is desperately deploying dishonest and negative campaigning in an effort to distract voters from her radical, extreme voting record.” The Wild campaign responded, “The best news Mackenzie’s campaign can highlight is a poll that shows he is losing.”
Rep. Wild successfully won re-election against Republican Lisa Scheller in 2020 and 2022 after succeeding former Rep. Charlie Dent in 2018. During this election cycle, Wild has campaigned on standing up “against any and all forms of fear and hate” and advocated for reproductive and voting rights policies.
Between April 4 and June 30, Wild’s campaign raised $1.53 million and spent just under $345,000. After winning the April 23rd primary, Mackenzie raised just under $405,000 and spent just over $155,000. As of July 1st, Wild had $3.85 million cash on hand while Mackenzie had $365,000.
