Dellicker concedes 7th Congressional District primary to Scheller
Rematch set between Scheller and Wild for November
The vote totals in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary have pointed to Lisa Scheller winning the nomination over Kevin Dellicker in a surprisingly close race.
Dellicker made Scheller’s victory certain Friday morning when he announced that he conceded.
That sets up the expected rematch of the 2020 contest between Scheller and Democratic incumbent Susan Wild.
“Last night, I called Lisa Scheller and congratulated her on her victory and wished her well in the general election,” Dellicker’s statement said. “We all want to reverse the damaging progressive policies that are hurting our nation. I truly hope Lisa Scheller’s campaign will contribute to a Republican wave that returns fiscal responsibility and limited government to Washington. We need it.”
He said that by running for office he wanted to prove “that a normal guy – who’s not rich, famous or a professional politician – can represent his neighbors in Washington. We didn’t win, but we sent a message loud and clear.”
Scheller, in her statement Friday morning, congratulated “Dellicker on his well-run campaign and thank him for his well wishes in the General Election.”
She thanked people who were involved in her campaign “those who placed their confidence in me with their vote.”
She added, “The incredible turnout in the Republican Primary shows that the policies championed by Susan Wild have energized the Republican base. It’s clear that families in the Lehigh Valley are fed up with the sky-high inflation Susan Wild and her progressive friends have given us.”
Entering the race, signs of Scheller’s victory seemed certain.
She had political experience, winning an election as a Lehigh County commissioner, while Dellicker was making his first run for office. He said the Republican establishment opposed his candidacy. She raised significantly more money for her campaign and outspent him 10-1. Nonetheless the primary was close.
As additional votes were counted in the days after Tuesday’s primary, she slightly expanded her lead to 1,757, giving her 51.3% of the total. And on Thursday afternoon, the Associated Press declared Scheller the winner. (Some counties will review and count provisional ballots, which could change the totals but not the outcome.)
Scheller can thank Northampton County voters for winning the nomination.
Dellicker won Lehigh County, where both candidates live, and Carbon County. But Scheller overcame that advantage with Northampton County. She also won Monroe County, where only three voting precincts are in the 7th District.
There were few significant differences on issues between the two conservative candidates, but Dellicker took a stronger stance against abortion. For example, Scheller believes abortion is permissible if a pregnant woman’s life is in danger; Dellicker does not.
Scheller, who lives in Allentown, has been chairman and CEO of Silberline Manufacturing Co. in Hometown, Schuylkill County, since 2017. The company, started more than 75 years ago by Scheller’s grandfather, manufactures aluminum pigments used in such products as automotive paints and printing inks. It employs 500 people worldwide, including 160 people at its local operation.
Dellicker, a resident of Heidelberg Township, is a 26-year veteran who served a total of four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq in the years after 9/11 as an intelligence officer with the National Guard.
Since 2005, he has run a technology company, Dellicker Strategies, which assists businesses and organizations, including school districts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, with their broadband internet access and cybersecurity.
Campaign finance reports detail Scheller’s huge edge in money. As of April 27, Scheller’s campaign raised 1,989,165.33 and spent $916,472.69. By comparison, Dellicker took in $183,321.42 and spent $95,684.15.
Heading into the fall campaign, Wild has more than double the cash, according to campaign finance reports. Wild, who without a primary opponent still spent $829,038.31 for her reelection, had $2,471,800.22 as of April 27; Scheller had $1,153,273.
Wild defeated Sheller in 2020 with nearly 52% of the vote.
In 2020, the district comprised all of Lehigh and Northampton counties and part of Monroe.
The new district still has Lehigh and Northampton counties but now includes all of Carbon County and a smaller portion of Monroe.
FiveThirtyEight, which analyzes political data, says the reconfigured district leans Republican now that Carbon, where the GOP dominates, was added.
In 2020, President Donald Trump and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, the Republican who represented Carbon County at the time, won the county by about 2-1 margins in their races.
The Scheller-Wild rematch for 2022 has national implications as Republicans look to flip the House to their control. The 7th District, because of redistricting, could be a seat that the GOP could win. The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in Congress in midterm elections.
These midterms see President Biden with a low approval rate of 41.1%, while 54.1% of the people are dissatisfied with the job he’s doing, according to the Real Clear Politics average of several key polls.
High inflation marked by higher prices for food and gas, the war in Ukraine and Covid’s continued disruption of life in America make Democratic candidates even more vulnerable.