Brooks wins Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s swing 7th District race

Bob Brooks turned a crowded Democratic primary into a test of coalition politics and emerged as the nominee in Pennsylvania’s swing 7th Congressional District, where he will face Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in November. The race now shifts to a district that has swung repeatedly in recent presidential elections and could help decide control of the U.S. House.

Brooks, a firefighter union leader and first-time candidate, defeated former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell and energy engineer Carol Obando-Derstine. His victory gives Democrats a nominee who fits the party’s effort to unite labor, progressives and establishment figures around one candidate in a district centered in the Lehigh Valley, including Allentown.

The contest carries national weight. Democrats need a net gain of three seats to retake the House, and Pennsylvania’s four battleground congressional primaries have already drawn a combined $50 million in advertising spending or commitments. The 7th District is considered one of the country’s most competitive House seats after Mackenzie narrowly flipped it from Democratic control in 2024 by defeating Susan Wild, who had held the seat since 2018.

Brooks drew backing from a broad range of Democrats and allied groups. Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsed him in December 2025 and campaigned aggressively on his behalf, including hosting a fundraiser, cutting an ad and stumping with him shortly before Election Day. Brooks also won endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Working Families Party, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Blue Dogs, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and several labor-aligned groups. The DCCC added him to its Red to Blue program, underscoring the seat’s importance.

Shapiro’s support mattered in a district where he remains popular and is widely viewed as a possible 2028 presidential contender. The Democratic National Committee said Brooks, after 20 years as a local Pennsylvania firefighter, was ready to be “Lehigh Valley’s champion in Congress,” and framed his campaign as a fight over costs, health care and working families.

Brooks raised more than $300,000 in about a month after launching his campaign, a strong showing for a late entrant. Crosswell raised $380,128 in the reporting period cited by LehighValleyNews.com. The primary also drew outside spending and scrutiny, including more than $1 million from Lead Left PAC in the final days, mostly to aid McClure and attack Brooks and Crosswell.

Brooks retired from the Bethlehem Fire Department last year after joining in 2005, following a family story that shaped his politics: his family moved to Bath, Pennsylvania, after a house fire left them with little. He became president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association in 2021. In a district that backed Donald Trump by three points in 2016, narrowly backed Joe Biden in 2020 and returned to Trump by three points in 2024, the November matchup will test whether that labor-backed coalition can hold.