Four Democrats are vying to be the party’s nominee in Pennsylvania’s 7th District and run against US Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who is unopposed in the Republican primary on May 19.
Republican primary
Ryan Mackenzie
Mackenzie lives in Lower Macungie Township in Lehigh County. He defeated former US Rep. Susan Wild, a Democrat, in 2024. He serves on the Education and Workforce, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees in Congress.
From 2012 to 2024, Mackenzie served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He represented the 134th District for most of that time, and then represented the 187th District for one term after redistricting.
Prior to holding political office, he worked as the policy directory for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, acquired a real estate license, and worked on political campaigns.
Democratic primary
Robert Brooks
Brooks lives in Moore Township in Northampton County. According to his campaign site, Brooks was a firefighter in Bethlehem for 20 years and is president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, a firefighters union.
He has also worked as a bartender, short-order cook, warehouse worker, pizza delivery driver, landscaper, and owner of a family-operated lawn care and snow removal business.
He is endorsed by several high-profile Democrats, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, former US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and US Reps. Ro Khanna and Jamie Raskin, as well as independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. He is also endorsed by numerous state legislators, including House Majority Leader Matt Bradford and Rep. Maureen Madden.
Ryan Crosswell
Crosswell lives in Allentown in Lehigh County. According to his campaign site, Crosswell is a Marine Corps Reserve lieutenant colonel and a former federal prosecutor. He served as defense counsel in the US Marine Corps. Crosswell says as a federal prosecutor, he prosecuted “fraudsters, violent criminals, and drug traffickers,” serving in San Diego; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Washington, DC.
In February of 2025, Crosswell resigned from the Public Integrity Section of the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, citing in his resignation letter a refusal to identify two attorneys to sign a motion to dismiss the indictment against then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Crosswell is endorsed by US Rep. Derek Tran, a Democrat from California, and several local elected officials in the Lehigh Valley. Monroe County Treasurer Ira Jolley also endorsed him.
Lamont McClure
McClure lives in Bethlehem Township in Northampton County. He most recently served as the Northampton County executive, and prior to that was a member of the county council from 2006 to 2013. He is also a lawyer who specialized in workers compensation and asbestos cases, according to his campaign page.
McClure is endorsed by numerous current and former elected officials in the Lehigh Valley, including former state Rep. Terence Rooney; current Northampton County Council members Jeff Warren, Kelly Keegan and Ken Kraft and former member Ron Heckman; and former Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong.
He is also backed by various trade unions, including the Lehigh Valley Building Trades, United Steelworkers Local 2599 and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Locals 102 and 375.
Carol Obando-Derstine
Obando-Derstine lives in Upper Saucon Township in Lehigh County. According to her campaign page, Obando-Derstine is the former executive director of two nonprofit organizations, SkillsUSA Council and Children’s Coalition of the Lehigh Valley.
She also was a statewide Latino affairs advisor and regional manager for former US Sen. Bob Casey, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce volunteer and a member of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs. An engineer, she has taught at Northampton Community College worked at PPL Electric Utilities.
Obando-Derstine is endorsed by Wild, as well as US Reps. Linda Sánchez, Nanette Barragán, Veronica Escobar and Andrea Salinas. She is also endorsed by state Reps. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, chair of the Pennsylvania House Latino Caucus, and Danilo Burgos, former chair of the caucus.
Where is the 7th District?
Pennsylvania’s 7th District includes all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small part of Monroe County. The Monroe County portion includes all of Eldred and Polk townships and part of Ross Township.
