Updated: Wild declares victory with narrow lead over Scheller after 2 a.m.

Newcomers Coleman, Siegel and Miller appear victorious

As the sun begins to rise Tuesday, voters wait in line to vote at First Presbyterian Church in South Whitehall Township. / Photo by Donna Fisher, lehighvalleylive,com contributor

This story was updated at 6:45 a.m. to reflect additional vote totals.

The polls showed incumbent Democrat Susan Wild and her Republican challenger  Lisa Scheller in a dead-heat race in the 7th Congressional District rematch of their 2020 contest.

Indeed just after 2 a.m. only 4,713 votes separated the two, with Wild at 149,588 and Scheller, chairman and CEO of Silberline Manufacturing in Schuylkill Township, at 144,875, according to unofficial results that may not include all precincts or mail-in votes.

Wild’s lead grew from about 450 around midnight after additional results came in from Carbon and Northampton counties, prompting her to declare victory in a tweet at 2:06 a.m. Wednesday: “Thank you #PA-07, I am honored to have earned anogher term repreenting you in Washington.”

The 7th District comprises Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon countries and a small part of Monroe. Wild was seeking a third term.

Democratic Rep. Susan Wild meets supporters Tuesday night at Vison Nightclub at Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem while awaiting results from 7th District congressional election. / Photo by Donna Fisher, contributor to lehighvalley.live.com

In 2020, Wild won by 3.8 percentage points with 51.9% to Scheller’s 48.1%. The vote difference was 14,068. This year, the difference was much closer, with Wild maintaining a 1.6 percentage point lead.

Republican congressional candidate Lisa Scheller gathers with supporters Tuesday night at Hotel Bethlehem while waiting for results in the 7th District election. / Photo by Donna Fisher, contributor to lehighvalleylive.com

Other Lehigh Valley races had clearer winners, including two that lacked incumbents because of redistricting and one because of a primary upset. 

In the 16th District Senate race, Republican Jarrett Coleman, a Parkland School Board member who stunned the political world when he defeated longtime incumbent Pat Browne in May, was ahead of his opponent, Democrat Mark Pinsley, Lehigh County’s controller, by 11,889 votes.

In the 14th Senate District race, Democrat Nick Miller, an Allentown School Board member, had a 5,167-vote lead over Republican Dean Browning, a former Lehigh County commissioner chairman.

In the 22nd House race, Democrat Joshua Siegel, an Allentown City Council member, had a 2,715-vote lead over Republican Robert E. Smith, a former Allentown School Board member. 

Incumbents, whatever their party, also appeared headed back to Harrisburg. They include Democratic incumbent Lisa Boscola in the 18th Senate District and House incumbents Democrats Mike Schlossberg (132) and Peter Schweyer (134) and Republican Ann Flood (138).

Too close to call was the 131st House race, a rematch where incumbent Republican Milou Mackenzie was ahead of Democrat Kevin Branco, a Hellertown gym owner, by 375 votes.

Meanwhile, incumbent Republican Joe Emrick defeated Democrat Anna B. Thomas, a 26-year-old with no political experience or name recognition, by 1,145 votes.

Here are the results as of 12:15 a.m.

7th Congressional District

Susan Wild, D, Allentown, incumbent: 146,214

Lisa Scheller, R, Allentown: 143,940

Local state senate races

District 14
Incumbent: None

Nick Miller, D, Allentown: 45,047 

Dean Browning, R, South Whitehall: 39,880

Incumbent: None

Jarrett Coleman, R, Upper Macungie Township: 66,770

Mark Pinsley,  D, South Whitehall Township: 54,881

District 18

Lisa Boscola, D. Bethlehem Township: 58,310

John Merhottein Jr., R, Bethlehem Township: 42,042

Local state house races

District 22

Incumbent: None

Joshua Siegel, D, Allentown: 6,356

Robert E. Smith Jr., R, Allentown: 3,641

District 131

Milou Mackenzie, R, Lower Saucon Township: 11,852

Kevin Branco,  D, Upper Saucon Township: 11,477

District 132

Mike Schlossberg, D, South Whitehall, incumbent: 15,942

Bethney Finch, R, South Whitehall: 9,765

Matthew Schutter, Libertarian, South Whitehall: 561

District 134

Peter Schweyer, D, Allentown, incumbent: 10,127

Brent Labenberg, R, Emmaus: 6,721

District 137

Joe Emrick, R, Upper Nazareth Township, incumbent: 15,391

Anna B. Thomas, D, Bethlehem Township: 14,246

District 138

Ann Flood, R, Moore Township, incumbent: 18,728

Eugene Hunter, D, Forks Township: 10,720

UNOPPOSED

District 133

Jeanne McNeill, D, Whitehall Township, incumbent

District 135

 Steve Samuelson, D, Bethlehem, incumbent

District 136

Robert Freeman, D, Easton, incumbent

District 183

Zach Mako, R, Walnutport, incumbent

District 187

Ryan Mackenzie, R - Lower Macungie Township, incumbent