Bob Brooks, a longtime Bethlehem firefighter who retired last year and the current president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, was a runaway winner in a four-person race for the Democratic nomination for the 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

He earned the right to meet incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the November General Election.

Brooks was a solid winner in Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, and also picked up a 100-plus-vote win in parts of Monroe County.

In unofficial totals that need certification, the Democratic nominee recorded a 2-1 victory over the other three opponents with 25,991 votes.

Finishing second was Carbon County native and former Northampton County executive Lamont McClure, with 12,793 votes, outdistancing Ryan Crosswell, who grew up in Pottsville and served as a federal prosecutor for 10 years but made national headlines when he resigned from the Justice Department in 2025 in protest of the Trump administration’s decision to drop corruption charges against then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Crosswell was third with 12,710 votes while tallying 10,667 votes in fourth place was Carol Obando-Derstine, a former regional manager for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, as well as a regional affairs director for PPL Electric Utilities.

Mackenzie, who was unopposed, tallied 33,192 complimentary votes.

The district includes all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties and parts of Monroe County, including the townships of Eldred, Polk and some of Ross.

The breakdown of voting in those counties included:

Carbon – Brooks, 1,585; McClure, 899; Crosswell, 842; and Obando-Derstine, 793.

Lehigh – Brooks, 10,758; Crosswell, 7,108; Obando-Derstine, 5,872; and McClure, 3,137.

Monroe – Brooks, 311; Obando-Derstine, 196; Crosswell, 163; and McClure, 115.

Northampton – Brooks, 13,257; McClure, 8,642; Crosswell, 4,597; and Obando-Derstine, 3,806.

8th District

Meanwhile, the battle line for a November showdown for the 8th Congressional District was officially put in place as the incumbent Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, and challenger, Democrat Paige Cognetti, were unopposed on Tuesday.

Bresnahan, a resident of Dallas Township who defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright two years ago, collected 37,937 token votes yesterday, including 5,896 in parts of Monroe County.

Cognetti, the current mayor of the city of Scranton, tallied 58,374 complimentary votes, including 9,948 in Monroe County.

The district includes all of Lackawanna, Pike and Wayne counties and parts of Luzerne and Monroe counties, including the townships of Barrett, Chestnuthill, Coolbaugh, Hamilton, Jackson, Middle Smithfield, Paradise, Pocono and Price and parts of Ross Township.

9th District

The situation in the 9th District was similar to that of the 8th as the incumbent, Rep. Dan Meuser of Jackson Township, Luzerne County, and his imminent challenger, Democrat Rachel Wallace of East Brunswick Township, were both unchallenged for their parties’ nominations.

Meuser tallied 62,108 complimentary votes, including 8,895 in Schuylkill County, while Wallace netted 33,907 token votes, 6,464 of which came from Schuylkill County Democrats.

The district includes all of Bradford, Columbia, Lebanon, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan and Wyoming counties and parts of Berks, Luzerne and Lycoming counties.

All results are unofficial until certified. The salary of a congressman is $174,000.