Night of wins for Lehigh Valley Republicans in state House races
Night of wins for Lehigh Valley Republicans in state House races
Tuesday was looking to be a big night of wins for incumbent Republicans from the Lehigh Valley who were seeking reelection to the state House of Representatives as well as that of a former GOP lawmaker who wanted his seat back.
Joe Emrick (137th), Milou Mackenzie (131st), Ann Flood (138th) and Zach Mako (183rd) all were on their way to handily defeat their Democratic challengers, unofficial results showed. In the 187th, Gary Day, who lost his seat in a 2022 primary, was headed to the winner’s circle as well.
Their victories came as Democratic leadership as well as donors and political action committees poured well over $2 million into the matchups in hopes of widening their one-seat margin in the House.
Neither of the Lehigh Valley’s three state senators – Democrats Lisa Boscola (18th) and Nick Miller (14th) and Republican Jarrett Coleman (16th) – were up for reelection. Incumbent Democrats Joshua Siegel (22nd); Mike Schossberg (132nd); Jeanne McNeill (133rd); Peter Schweyer (134th); Steve Samuelson (135th), and Robert Freeman (136th) were unchallenged in their state House reelection bids.
Here is a look at the contested House races in the Lehigh Valley.
Emrick fends off Thomas again
For the second time, incumbent Republican Joe Emrick held off a challenge from Democrat Anna Thomas, winning an eighth term in the 137th state House District.
Emrick, who lives in Lower Nazareth Township, posted 20,203 votes to Thomas' 18,796 tally, a difference of 1,434, according to unofficial results posted in Northampton County at 1 a.m. It was a wider margin than in 2022 when Thomas came within 703 votes of defeating him.
Thomas’ close finish in 2022 led her to run again. Democratic leaders saw her as their biggest hope in the Lehigh Valley in flipping a seat blue.
Thomas, who lives in Bethlehem Township, amassed more than $1 million in cash donations and received more than $570,000 worth of in-kind contributions to take Emrick on.
Most of her in-kind help came from the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee and Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
Emrick had more than $314,194 in cash at his disposal.
The 137th includes Bethlehem Township, Lower Nazareth and Upper Nazareth townships, most of Palmer Township, the fifth ward in Hanover Township, the boroughs of Nazareth and Tatamy.
Day gets his seat back
Republican Gary Day, who lost his seat in the 187th House District in the 2022 primary, is on track to get it back, unofficial election results show.
Day, who lives in Heidelberg Township, defeated Democratic newcomer Stefanie Rafes, a physician assistant from Lower Macungie Township.
Day received 18,352 votes versus Rafes’ 15,376, unofficial Lehigh County results showed.
The 187th is an open seat because its representative, Republican Ryan Mackenzie, ran against incumbent Democrat Susan Wild in the 7th Congressional District. He was ahead by 8,000 votes as of 2 a.m.
Day served 14 years in the House until redistricting altered the district’s boundaries, and he lost to Mackenzie in the 2022 Republican primary.
After leaving office, Day became Coleman’s director of policy and district operations.
His victory comes as Rafes amassed $512,567 worth of cash and in-kind help in her race. Her cache was nearly eight times larger than Day’s. He raised $60,956 in cash and in-kind donations, between 2023 and Oct. 21, which was the closing date for the latest campaign finance reporting period. Another $4,900 came in on Oct. 23, bringing his total to $65,856.
Rafes issued a statement congratulating Day and vowing to keep up the fight for the issues she supports.
"This was only the beginning. I will not stop fighting to protect our fundamental right to reproductive freedom, lowering costs, and improving the quality of life for all."
The 187th includes the boroughs of Macungie and Alburtis and townships of Heidelberg, Lower Macungie, Lynn, Washington and Weisenberg, and part of Upper Macungie Township (Districts 03, 07 and 08).
Mackenzie wins third term
Incumbent Republican Milou Mackenzie was headed to victory in the 131st House District with unofficial results as of 2 a.m. Wednesday showing her ahead with 22,140 votes over Democratic newcomer Meriam Sabih’s 15,816 tally.
Mackenzie, 73, of Lower Saucon Township was seeking her third two-year term. Her son is Ryan Mackenzie.
Sabih, 44, a freelance writer, political volunteer and mother of three from Upper Saucon, was making her first bid for elected office.
Mackenzie emerged the winner even as Sabih outraised and outspent her. Sabih raised $100,429 this year and spent $41,154 as of Oct. 21, the latest campaign finance filing period.
Mackenzie had $51,828 at her disposal.
The 131st includes the following municipalities: In Lehigh County, Lower Milford, Upper Milford and Upper Saucon townships and Coopersburg with part of Salisbury Township. In Montgomery County, Marlborough, Salford and Upper Hanover townships and East Greenville, Green Lane, Pennsburg and Red Hill. In Northampton County: parts of Lower Saucon Township.
Ann Flood wins third term
Republican Ann Flood was on her way to a third term in the 138th House District, defeating Democratic newcomer Jared Bitting, unofficial Northampton County election results show.
Flood tallied twice as many votes as Bitting, a school teacher who lives in Bushkill Township. Unofficial results as of 1 a.m. showed her with 25,423 votes versus 13,454 for Bitting.
The 138th includes Bangor, Chapman, East Bangor, Pen Argyl, Portland, Roseto, Stockertown and Wind Gap and Bushkill, and Forks, Lower Mount Bethel, Plainfield, Upper Mount Bethel and Washington townships, with part of Moore Township.
Zach Mako sails to fifth term
Incumbent Republican Zach Mako was sailing to a fifth term in the 183rd House District, defeating Democratic newcomer Joe Lenzi, unofficial results show.
Mako tallied 25,343 votes as of 2 a.m Wednesday, nearly twice as many as Lenzi’s 13,271.
On April 23, Mako defeated Zachari Halkias, a member of Slatington Borough Council, in the Republican primary, capturing 72.2 percent of the vote.
The 183rd includes parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties, including Slatington, Walnutport, Northampton, North Catasauqua, and the townships of Lowhill, North Whitehall, Lehigh, Moore, Allen, and East Allen.