BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 Bob Brooks kept his message to the point in a six-minute address to union leaders and supporters on Monday. <\/p>\n
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Brooks, the head of the state firefighters union and a Democratic candidate for a battleground House seat in the Lehigh Valley, described himself as a \u201cworking-class candidate\u201d and \u201cworking-class person\u201d who has been working since he ran a paper route at age 10. \u201cThe whole system is rigged against us,\u201d he said \u2014 and the only way to combat such an imbalance of power is by \u201csending people like us to Washington, D.C., to represent us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Across town, Democratic rival Ryan Crosswell, a Marine veteran and former federal prosecutor whose headline-grabbing<\/a> resignation from the Justice Department preceded his campaign, offered a very different message. In an interview with NBC News, he described leaving the Justice Department\u2019s Public Integrity Section \u2014 over an order to drop a corruption case against then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams \u2014 as \u201ca real No Kings moment,\u201d pointing to the anti-President Donald Trump protest movement.<\/p>\n The Republican-turned-Democrat said Trump \u201cis literally trying to write Article One out of the Constitution \u2014 that is violating the law.\u201d He decried a \u201clawless\u201d administration and explained that he tries \u201cto tell people corruption is a kitchen-table issue\u201d and that lawlessness and corruption have \u201cbeen a key focus in this race.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think that this is a unique moment in American history,\u201d Crosswell said, adding, \u201cThis is a time in this country where I think we\u2019re really struggling for our own soul.\u201d<\/p>\n The competing messages also highlight a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. What\u2019s notable in the party\u2019s primary for Pennsylvania\u2019s 7th Congressional District, arguably the state\u2019s most competitive, is how leaders across the party\u2019s ideological spectrum \u2014 from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro \u2014 have all lined up on one side of this equation: With Brooks.<\/p>\n The rationale is straightforward, according to Democratic operatives working on and watching the race: They see Brooks as best positioned to connect with voters in the district on economic hardships and message on what they believe will be the top issue this fall, the economy. They believe the party sorely needs more everymen like Brooks, a gruff retired firefighter who would be one of the only House members without a college degree if elected.<\/p>\n The primary moves come as national Democrats are trying to ensure a broader appeal beyond the party\u2019s anti-Trump base.<\/p>\n Party leaders rallying behind Brooks is \u201can admission that we need more normal people and fewer lawyers,\u201d said Andrew Mamo, a spokesperson for The Bench, a Democratic group boosting candidates across the midterm map, including Brooks. \u201cThere are far more firefighters in the country than a-list lawyers.\u201d<\/p>\n Crosswell, meanwhile, fits the mold of a candidate Democrats have often sought in swing races around the country \u2014 and in Pennsylvania: Military experience, prosecutorial chops, and ease with anti-Trump messaging. Even now, Crosswell has been able to tap into a reservoir of donor support, which has boosted his fundraising above his competition.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have to just hear me promise I\u2019ll stand up to Trump \u2014 I\u2019ve already done it,\u201d Crosswell said. \u201cI took a tough stand at a time when people were bending the knee \u2026 I think I\u2019ve fought harder against this administration than any candidate, not in this race, in the country. I think that\u2019s evident that matters to people.\u201d<\/p>\n Brooks, Crosswell, and two other candidates \u2014 former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine, an engineer and one-time aide to former Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. \u2014 are competing to face off with first-term Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the fall. The Tuesday primary is one of the first of 2026 featuring a contested fight in a battleground district \u2014 one where Mackenzie defeated former Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., by 1 point in 2024. <\/p>\n Trump carried it by 3 points in 2024 and former President Joe Biden won it by 1 in 2020. Shapiro, who will appear at the top of the ticket this fall, carried the district by 12 points in 2022.<\/p>\n In an interview, Brooks \u2014 who also owns a snow-removal and lawn care business and coaches baseball locally \u2014 said his prominent supporters \u201csee and understand the fact that people just like me have been leaving this party in droves for years because they see it as a party of elites, and they felt left behind.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThey see that it needs change, and I can offer that change,\u201d he continued, adding, \u201cSo those people that have left the party can look at me and see themselves in me.\u201d<\/p>\n The dual endorsement from Sanders and Shapiro certainly attracted attention. \u201cWhen you can get them both to endorse you, maybe it says more about Bob than it does about either of them,\u201d David Melman, elected leader of the Pennsylvania Joint Board of Workers United SEIU, said at a Brooks event on Monday.<\/p>\n But while his backers also include former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee<\/a> and The Working Families Party, among others, Brooks has not put the primary race away. <\/p>\n A survey sponsored by the<\/a> Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC showed McClure within striking distance last month, and that was before a super PAC with ties to Republicans<\/a> began spending to boost him in the race. Through last month<\/a>, Crosswell had generated the biggest fundraising haul, outraising Brooks by nearly $600,000 (though the largest outside spending has come on Brooks\u2019 behalf via Stronger Together PA, which has spent more than $1 million boosting him.) Obando-Derstine, meanwhile, has sought to build on inroads with the Lehigh Valley\u2019s Latino community \u2014 which makes up about 20% of the district.<\/p>\n Republicans offered respect for the coalition Brooks was able to pull together on the left, with one longtime Republican operative in Pennsylvania describing Brooks as \u201ckind of a unicorn candidate.\u201d But a national Republican operative working in the state said given that backing they have been surprised \u201cBrooks hasn\u2019t been able to pull away.\u201d <\/p>\n Brooks, who gave a shaky debate<\/a> performance last month, faced scrutiny over controversial years-old social media posts obtained by The Washington Post<\/a> that included calling former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick a \u201cdouchebag\u201d over his police brutality protests. His working-class credentials were questioned after a financial disclosure<\/a> with the Federal Election Commission estimated his and his wife\u2019s assets between $148,000 and $3.89 million.<\/p>\n And, this month, Brooks told a group of college students that Shapiro asked his union to back Republican Stacy Garrity for state Treasurer over Democrat Erin McClelland, who had publicly been deeply critical of the governor while he was being considered as then-Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019 running mate. Axios<\/a> first reported on the remarks, which were recorded. NBC News separately obtained the recording.<\/p>\n \u201cI worry that what we\u2019re trying to do is say, \u2018Hey, look at this guy. He\u2019s just like you,\u2019\u201d a Democratic operative who has worked with multiple potential 2028 contenders said in an interview. \u201cSelectively, that can be helpful. But everybody thought we were doing that with [Sen. John] Fetterman, and it didn\u2019t really work.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cBut it does seem like the party is calibrating their preferred candidate a little bit, where they are an outsider, everyman, every person,\u201d this person, who requested anonymity as they are not authorized to speak with the press, added.<\/p>\n![\"Carol](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260524-carol-Obando-Derstine-pennsylvania-mn-1100-e66817.jpg\")
Carol Obando-Derstine, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, speaks speaks with attendees at an event in Bethlehem on May 11.Matt Rourke \/ AP<\/p>\n
![\"Lamont](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260513-lamont-mcclure-pennsylvania-mn-1420-773c13.jpg\")
Lamont McClure, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, speaks in Bethlehem on May 11.Matt Rourke \/ AP<\/p>\n