Crosswell leads Democrats in 7th in fundraising as incumbent Republican Mackenzie surpasses them all
Ryan Crosswell was the last Democrat to announce his candidacy for the 7th Congressional District but leads his two Democratic opponents in raising money for the 2026 primary, according to campaign finance reports for the three-month period ending June 30.
Crosswell, a former federal prosecutor who switched from Republican to Democrat, raised $320,980 since announcing his candidacy in June.
Carol Obando-Derstine, a former PPL supervisor and U.S. Senate aide, generated $208,573 since her May announcement.
Lamont McClure, the Northampton County executive who in February was the first Democrat to announce his candidacy, raised $87,122.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, a first-term Republican who defeated Democrat Rep. Susan Wild last November, demonstrated the power of incumbency in raising $801,145, which is more than the combined total of the three Democrats. Tuesday was the deadline for the second quarter campaign finance reports to be filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Mackenzie also has the most money – $1,194,805 – at the end of the reporting period when factoring in money carried over from the first reporting period.
Among the Democratic candidates, Crosswell spent $66,977, leaving $254,003 in the bank. Obando-Derstine spent $85,603, leaving a balance of $122,970, while McClure spent $80,474, with $92,768 in available cash.
Last November, Mackenzie, a 12-year state legislator, defeated incumbent Democrat Susan Wild by 1%, denying her a fourth term in Congress. Wild is backing Obando-Derstine.
Last year, the 7th District election was one of several races considered pivotal for Republicans to maintain control of the House. The 2026 election is expected to be equally important to which party has a majority in the House.
The 7th District comprises all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small portion of Monroe.
Here is a closer look at the campaign finance reports.
Ryan Mackenzie
Mackenzie for Congress collected $292,210 from individuals and $168,000 from political action committees.
The largest haul – $339,921 – came from campaign committees authorized to raise money for Mackenzie’s campaign, including Grow the Majority, affiliated with House Speaker Mike Johnson ($72,981); Defend Our Majority, affiliated with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise ($69,815); and Emmer Majority Builders, affiliated with U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer from Minnesota, ($22,972).
In the first reporting period of this year, Mackenzie’s campaign received $138,583 from Grow the Majority and $92,544 from Defend our Majority.
Mackenzie amasses $673,000 in Q1 funding for 2026 reelection campaign
Donations from PACs and campaign committees included $5,000 each from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America PAC; National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association Rock PAC; New York Life Insurance Company PAC; PA-First PAC, the campaign committee of U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser who represents the 9th District that includes Schuylkill County; Rejoice PAC, affiliated with U.S. Rep. John Joyce from Pennsylvania's 13th District; Restoring Our Nation PAC, affiliated with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; and The Home Depot Inc. PAC. Jim Jordan for Congress, the campaign committee for the Ohio congressman who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, gave $2,000.
Contributions from individuals included Montgomery County Republican Robert Asher and his wife Joyce, $3,500 each; Curtis Barnette, former CEO of Bethlehem Steel, $1,000; Robert Bennett, owner of JH Bennett auto dealer, $1,000; and Philip J. Purcell of Park City, Utah, former chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley who leads the private equity firm Continental Investors, $3,500; John Puskar of Bethany, Conn., CEO of Foxhound Advisors public relations firm, $3,500; Bruce Toll, of Palm Peach, Fla., founder of the Toll Brothers real estate company, $3,000; Douglas Woosnam, Hellertown, executive vice president of the Eastern Pennsylvania Energy Association, $3,000; Jeffrey Yass of Haverford, a major financial backer to conservative political causes, $3,500; Ross Perot Jr. of Dallas, Texas, chairman of Hillwood developers and son of the late presidential candidate, $3,500; Roger Penske of Bloomfield, Mich., founder and chairman of Penske Corp., $3,500
Lamont McClure
McClure, a lawyer who grew up in Carbon County, was elected Northampton County executive in 2017. Before that, he had been a county council member. He chose to run for Congress instead of seeking a third term as county executive.
McClure for PA raised $67,622 from individuals and $19,500 from PACs.
Northampton County Executive McClure will fight for working class if elected to Congress
McClure has touted his support from unions, and his PAC contributions came entirely from labor PACs: International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Political Action Committee, $2,000; International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Political Action Together Political Committee, $2,500; IUOE Operating Engineers, $5,000; Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) PAC, $5,000; Plumbers Union Local 690 Political Action Committee, $5,000.
Individual contributors included $3,500 each from Carl Goldberg of Randolph, N.J., managing member of Canoe Brook Management; Kirk Clay, a self-employed investor from New York City; Christian Martin of Bethlehem, chief marketing officer for Marquee Brands; and Jennifer Pritzker of Chicago, president and CEO of Tawani Enterprises and a cousin of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker; Paul Wiener, a lawyer from Easton. Allentown state Rep. Joshua Siegel gave $1,000.
Carol Obando-Derstine
Orbando-Derstine is a former supervisor with PPL Electric Utilities who previously worked as a regional manager and statewide Latino affairs adviser to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who lost in November to Republican David McCormick. She was recruited by Wild to run.
Obando-Derstine raised $208,573 and spent $85,603, leaving her with $122,970 in cash.
Democrat Carol Obando-Derstine enters 7th Congressional District race
Her committee, Carol for PA, listed $196,073 in donations, including $181,763 from individuals, including pass-throughs from Act Blue. She also collected $14,184 from committees such as PACs. She donated $125 and loaned her campaign $12,500.
Dozens of her donors listed addresses in the 7th, including Chris Martin of the guitar manufacturer Martin & Co. who gave $5,000. Other large donations include $4,000 from the Susan Wild for Congress committee, $6,684 from the We Invest in Dreams PAC, $2,500 each from Eugene and Julie Ericksen of Philadelphia and $2,500 from the Democrats Win Fund. Twelve PPL employees made individual donations that totaled $4,350.
Obando-Derstine spent the bulk of her expenses on payroll, list acquisitions, printing and text messaging.
Ryan Crosswell
Crosswell is a Marine veteran and former prosecutor in the Trump administration who resigned earlier this year over the Department of Justice’s decision to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
He grew up in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, and never lived in the Lehigh Valley until recently moving to Allentown. As a youth, he competed in sports in the area.
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Crosswell for Congress raised $320,980 and spent $66,977, leaving the candidate with $254,003 in the bank.
All of his donations were listed as coming from individuals or as bulk contributions from Act Blue, a Democratic donation clearinghouse.
His report lists one itemized donor from the 7th, Abbey Williams, who gave $500. The $59,154 listed in unitemized donations could include local voters who gave less than $200, an amount that doesn’t require a donor’s name.
Large individual donors included Crosswell’s mother Deborah Crosswell of Pottsville ($7,000); Lily Lok of New York ($5,000); Brian Brook of California ($4,000), Marylin Culp of North Carolina ($2,000) and Shandal Desai of Virginia ($2,000).
Crosswell spent the bulk of his money on campaign and fundraising consultants, including $33,000 to SB Digital Inc., Washington, D.C.