Bob Brooks begins congressional campaign with show of unity among Democrats
Democrat Bob Brooks kicked off his 7th District congressional campaign Wednesday night before a standing-room-only crowd at the Teamsters Local 773 union hall in Whitehall Township, where his primary opponents and other speakers emphasized the need to work together to defeat Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie on Nov. 3.
“I will fight for you every single day that I’m in this,” Brooks said. “I will not let up. We will be 100% all gas, no brakes. We are taking this seat.”
Brooks, president of the state Professional Fire Fighters Association who worked as a Bethlehem firefighter for 20 years, won the May 19 primary with 41% of the vote. He was followed by Ryan Crosswell (21.3%), Lamont McClure (20%) and Carol Obando-Derstine (17.7%). The 7th District comprises all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small section of Monroe. In 2024, Mackenzie defeated three-term incumbent Democratic Susan Wild by one percentage point.
Brooks attracted broad support, including endorsements by progressives (U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Working Families Party) and moderates (Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Rep Chris Deluzio and the Blue Dog PAC).
Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, said the gathering of key Democrats demonstrates the importance of the 7th District election “and the party’s desire to display unity in its effort to flip the seat. … I expect Democrats will have all hands on deck for this race, along with enormous amounts of resources directed to the Brooks campaign and this event is a clear signal of what is to come.”
Brooks said Mackenzie, when serving in the state House, initially opposed legislation that would expand workers compensation benefits to include firefighters and other first responders who suffer post-traumatic stress injuries. The bill, for which Brooks lobbied over several years as state firefighters union president, was signed into law by Shapiro in 2024.
Mackenzie for Congress campaign manager Andres Weller pointed out in a statement that Brooks’ primary opponents previously criticized him for being sued over nonpayment of a $130,000 loan from his former mother-in-law, for an incomplete financial disclosure statement and for questionable social media posts.
“In recent months, Democrats across the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos have rightfully pointed out Brooks’ history of fraud, dishonesty, shady deals, sketchy social media posts, and embarrassing gaffes. Congressman Mackenzie stands with local Democrats in their criticisms of conman and fraudster Bob Brooks, including by joining Ryan Crosswell’s recent call for Brooks to update his ‘falsified’ ethics disclosure to include the ‘court-ordered debt of $130,000 to his in-laws,’ “ Weller said.
Brooks has denied any financial wrongdoing and explained his social media posts as wrong.
To view more photos from the event, click here.
Wild, who recruited Obando-Derstine to run for Congress, helped organize Wednesday’s event. The former congresswoman reminded the crowd, which included people who supported candidates other than Brooks, that flipping the 7th District blue is critical to the Democrats’ goal of taking control of the House.
“Pennsylvania is the center of the universe in election years. And PA-7 is the center of the Pennsylvania universe. We are the ultimate swing district in the ultimate swing state. All eyes are on Pennsylvania 7,” she said, before introducing Brooks to the crowd. “We have a shared mission that we have to get behind. We have to unseat Ryan McKenzie.”
Joining Wild as speakers leading to Brooks’ remarks were Crosswell, Obando-Derstine, state Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale and former western Pennsylvania Congressman Conor Lamb. McClure, who has pledged his support for Brooks, was unable to attend because he was traveling out of the area.
Obando-Derstine emphasized the need to get the vote out in November, pointing out that voter turnout in the primary was only about 20%.
“So I’m making a pledge today to Bob. I want to help you get to every single corner of the district with your message. We have a shared mission. It’s to unseat a rubber stamp for Trump, and put someone in the seat who fights for all of us,” she said. “We have to get Bob across the finish line.”
Crosswell asked the crowd if they had seen Mackenzie’s social media posts.
“Ryan’s reading to school kids when he’s not cutting money for education.
Ryan’s busy in a food pantry when he’s not cutting SNAP benefits,” he said.
Mackenzie voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill, a tax and spending plan that cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by $295 billion over 10 years. Gov. Shapiro estimated that 144,000 people in Pennsylvania could see their benefits reduced or ended, including 6,096 in the 7th District.
Crosswell compared Mackenzie and other Republicans to a “cheering section” for President Trump.
“I think the worst part about him and these Republicans is they just sit idly by and watch this damage that’s being done to our democracy,” he said.
“Why even be in Congress if you’re just going to allow [Trump] to take away their power? These Republican congressmen are like paperweights for this president’s executive orders. … We are paying Ryan Mackenzie $174,000 a year for something we could have got in Office Depot for $5.99.”
Lamb said the only way to check Trump’s power is to elect Democrats in November and “send people like Bob Brooks to Congress. … We’re lucky here, because you have someone who understands what it means to have responsibility and to make choices about other people, to put himself on the line to actually protect people.”
DePasquale said voters have two choices in November.
One is Brooks, a “working class person, who knows what it’s like to keep communities safe, who knows the impact of what’s happened in Washington, D.C., what that does to family budgets, what cutting Medicaid does, what it does to our hospitals, what it does to working families.”
The other choice? Trump. DePasquale explained, “Now, you may say to yourself, ‘Oh, Eugene, I’m confused here. I thought Bob was running against Ryan Mackenzie.’ Mackenzie is Donald. … They are one in the same.”
Mackenzie supports the Iran War, DePasquale said. (On Wednesday, the House voted 215-208 to end U.S. involvement in the Iran War. Mackenzie voted no.) Mackenzie helped pass cuts to social programs, and rising prices have hurt people in the Lehigh Valley, DePasquale said.
“What they’re doing to average, everyday Pennsylvanians and average, everyday Americans is a result of Ryan Mackenzie and Donald Trump,” he said. “When we send Bob Brooks to Congress … Donald Trump will become a lame duck.”
