Ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary, we sat down with candidates running for U.S. House in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District for our Congressional Candidate Conversations series.
Congressional Candidate Conversations | Lamont McClure | PA-07 (2026)
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On this special series of the Lehigh Valley with Love Podcast, we sat down with candidates running for U.S. House in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary.
To keep this fair and useful, every candidate was asked the same core questions. Mark Pinsley is not included because he dropped out. We also reached out multiple times to Congressman Ryan McKenzie’s office and did not receive a response.
In this episode, we speak with Lamont McClure, who says he recently completed his second term as Northampton County Executive and announced his run for Congress last February. He describes his candidacy as a response to what he calls growing national chaos, and he ties his platform to affordability, healthcare, and public safety.
Campaign: https://mcclureforpa.com/
Day to day financial stress
McClure says the biggest day to day financial stress he hears about is housing affordability. He argues that tariffs are limiting the ability of home builders to build homes, which limits supply and contributes to rising costs and homelessness. He says national solutions should include incentivizing affordable housing builders so more housing gets built at every level of the market. He also argues that rolling back tariffs would help control affordability, saying tariffs have raised prices, raised taxes people pay, and are killing jobs.
Healthcare and ACA premium tax credits
McClure says he supports extending Affordable Care Act benefits, especially the premium tax credits, and says he supports making them permanent. He criticizes Congressman Ryan McKenzie’s actions around the tax credits, arguing McKenzie had opportunities to leverage his vote to secure an extension but did not. He frames his own approach as using his vote to make sure constituents are taken care of, and he links the ACA tax credits to the stability of small businesses and self employed people in the district.
Immigration enforcement, legal pathways, and work authorization
McClure says the country needs secure borders and says violent criminals who are in the country without documentation should be deported. He then focuses on what he describes as his record pushing back on ICE actions in Northampton County. He describes an incident where ICE arrested someone in a courthouse hallway, and says he researched the law and issued an executive order preventing ICE from making arrests in his courthouse. He says that policy remains in place under his successor. He also emphasizes that he has taken on MAGA aligned opponents electorally, and frames that as proof he can win in a politically mixed county.
Warehouses and data centers
Asked about warehouses and data centers and what makes a project worth it for the region, McClure points to his record combating warehouse proliferation in Northampton County. He cites land preservation work, including preserving 20,000 acres of farmland and 3,800 acres of open space, creating four new county parks, and preserving environmentally sensitive land that contains rare species. He also says he fought warehouse proliferation “to the tune of over twenty five million dollars” in Northampton County. He frames his approach as protecting a green future for the district.
Homelessness
McClure calls homelessness a multifactorial problem and says it is not the same for everybody, so solutions vary. He says Northampton and Lehigh counties put millions of dollars a year into addressing homelessness and says he has been in that fight for years, including a focus on veteran homelessness. He also describes using money won from opioid manufacturers for efforts to fight the opioid crisis, including drug and alcohol treatment, and he references a suicide prevention task force that focused on lowering suicide rates, especially among veterans. He says he would work to ensure federal law and policy help combat homelessness, addiction, and support veterans.
Third place in the Lehigh Valley
McClure says his third place is Minsi Lake, describing it as a serene place that helps him decompress. He also mentions other places he enjoys, including Leaser Lake Park near his home, the Lehigh Valley Zoo, and going to his native Carbon County in the fall.
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Congressional Candidate Conversations | Bob Brooks | PA-07 (2026)
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On this special series of the Lehigh Valley with Love Podcast, we sat down with candidates running for U.S. House in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary.
To keep this fair and useful, every candidate was asked the same core questions. Mark Pinsley is not included because he dropped out. We also reached out multiple times to Congressman Ryan McKenzie’s office and did not receive a response.
In this episode, we speak with Bob Brooks, a career firefighter with the City of Bethlehem and a union leader. Brooks talks about affordability in the Lehigh Valley, what federal policy can do to expand housing supply, and how he thinks about public safety, healthcare, and local development.
Campaign: https://brooksforcongress.com/
Day to day financial stress
Brooks says the biggest day to day financial stresses he hears about are healthcare and housing, and he focuses first on housing. He argues the region needs to build a lot more housing quickly and says that requires cutting red tape, including permitting and zoning reforms. He supports first time home buyer help and talks about expanding programs similar to the HELPERS Act style loan concept. He also argues for cracking down on bulk home buying by private equity and corporate purchasers that he says distort the housing market.
Healthcare and ACA premium tax credits
Brooks says he supports extending the ACA premium tax credits and argues they should not be removed without a replacement plan. He warns that cutting help people rely on will raise costs, and he links paying for coverage support to tax policy changes. He argues for a minimum tax on billionaires and large corporations, saying that would fund major priorities. He also says making programs permanent will require negotiation and compromise, and he frames himself as a negotiator from his labor leadership experience.
Immigration enforcement, legal pathways, and work authorization
Brooks frames the issue through public safety and argues enforcement efforts should focus on serious criminals, not everyday people. He says the purpose of ICE should be to target drug dealers and people committing violent crimes, and he argues the agency should be refocused. He also calls for streamlining the pathway to citizenship and supports adding more immigration judges to speed up the process, criticizing long wait times.
Warehouses and data centers
Brooks says he will side with workers, and evaluates projects based on whether they bring real jobs and benefits. He says he is concerned about data centers in particular because of infrastructure impacts, especially strain on the electric grid. He says federal involvement is limited compared to local government, but argues there is room for federal regulation related to electricity markets and for slowing or tightening approvals. He also argues data centers should be required to generate their own power rather than pulling heavily from the existing grid.
Homelessness
Brooks argues federal action should expand housing options and help people afford them. He supports expanding Housing Choice Vouchers, but says vouchers are capped and that cap is linked to the lack of available housing. He argues the solution requires building more housing and increasing affordable and entry level housing. He also emphasizes mental health funding, saying mental health needs are a major factor in homelessness and that resources have not matched the scale of need.
Third place in the Lehigh Valley
Brooks says his third place is a baseball field behind the Nazareth Intermediate School, where he coaches varsity baseball for Nazareth High School. He describes it as a place where he can put his phone away and focus on helping young people grow.
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Congressional Candidate Conversations | Aiden Gonzalez | PA-07 (2026)
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Become a partner or contact us
On this special series of the Lehigh Valley with Love Podcast, we sat down with candidates running for U.S. House in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary.
To keep this fair and useful, every candidate was asked the same core questions. We also reached out multiple times to Congressman Ryan McKenzie’s office and did not receive a response.
In this episode, we speak with Aiden Gonzalez, a Bethlehem resident running in the Democratic primary for PA-07.
Campaign: https://www.aidenforpa7.com/
Day to day financial stress
Gonzalez says healthcare is the biggest day to day financial stress he hears about. He also connects affordability to housing, saying his generation is far more likely to rent long term than to own a home. He adds that energy is a leading cause of inflation and ties that to investing in future technology.
Healthcare and ACA premium tax credits
Gonzalez calls the ACA a great program but a half step, and says the country should move to single payer healthcare. He says more than a million people who were on the ACA last year are not on it this year because subsidies expired, and he connects that to rising premiums and costs.
Immigration enforcement, legal pathways, and work authorization
Gonzalez emphasizes due process and constitutional protections. He argues that the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments apply to everyone in the country, not only citizens. He also says the U.S. should encourage talented people to come here to work and contribute, and argues current approaches are driving people away.
Warehouses and data centers
Gonzalez says data centers are not the kind of future focused investment he wants for the region. He argues they raise electricity and water costs and do not create many permanent jobs. He also says the region has enough warehouses and data centers and describes his preference for projects that create lasting jobs and contribute back to the community.
Homelessness
Gonzalez says immediate relief requires federal funding through Housing and Urban Development to build homes to house people experiencing homelessness. He says the longer term goal should be making home ownership achievable, and he mentions increasing first time home owner loans. He also argues for discouraging large scale corporate landlord practices, including a progressive tax on corporate landlords based on how many residences they buy.
Third place in the Lehigh Valley
Asked where he likes to spend time outside of work and home, Gonzalez says he is a big gym person and names Powerhouse Gym in Bethlehem.
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Michael Bernadyn of RE/MAX Real Estate
Molly’s Irish Grille & Sports Pub
Banko Beverage Company
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Email your news release to info@lehighvalleywithlovemedia.com