7th District GOP candidates wait for official results before taking next step
Scheller leads Dellicker by 1,757 votes, according to unofficial returns
Update: The Associated Press Thursday afternoon reported that it called the race for Lisa Scheller.
Both Republican primary candidates for the 7th Congressional District nomination are holding off from having a victory celebration or making a concession speech until the count is certified, which could be within a few weeks.
Lisa Scheller was leading with 51.3% of the vote (34,384) and led opponent Kevin Dellicker by 1,757 votes, a number that had increased from earlier Wednesday.
Scheller is holding off from declaring victory, however.
“As we wait for the results to be official, we are extremely confident Lisa's current lead will hold,” Scheller campaign spokesman Pierce Frauenheim said in a statement Wednesday evening.
“Republicans have shown that they are energized to take back this seat in November and that is evident when we look at the turnout in the Lehigh Valley which exceeded the 2020 primary election turnout.”
Dellicker was similarly cautious in his comments.
“Lisa Scheller and I are in a very tight race for PA-7,” Dellicker posted on social media Wednesday morning. “According to press reports, we are separated by 1,720 votes with several thousand expected votes still outstanding. My team and I will wait patiently for the rest of the ballots to be counted and provide an update as soon as we can.”
If Scheller wins, she would face Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in November. Wild defeated Scheller in 2020 with nearly 52% of the vote.
The race has national implications as Republicans will look to flip the House to their control, and the 7th District, according to several analyses, leans slightly Republican. The congressional district comprises Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties and a small portion of Monroe County.
Scheller of Allentown is a former Lehigh County commissioner and is chairman and CEO of Silberline Manufacturing in Schuylkill County.
Dellicker of Heidelberg Township runs his own computer consulting business and is a 26-year National Guard veteran who served a total of four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.