Democrats back – In Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, Democrats are using Tuesday’s primary to choose between sharply different messages: Bob Brooks’ “working-class” pitch backed by major party figures, and Ryan Crosswell’s law-and-order, anti-Trump framing rooted in
BETHLEHEM, Pa.. — Bob Brooks kept his pitch brief on Monday. delivering a six-minute address to union leaders and supporters in a race that has become bigger than a single district.. The Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional seat in the Lehigh Valley described himself as a “working-class candidate” and “working-class person. ” saying he has worked since he ran a paper route at age 10.
“ The whole system is rigged against us,” Brooks said. “The only way to combat such an imbalance of power is by sending people like us to Washington, D.C., to represent us.”
Across town, his Democratic rival Ryan Crosswell offered a different kind of contrast.. A Marine veteran and former federal prosecutor whose headline-grabbing Justice Department resignation preceded his campaign. Crosswell framed his departure from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section as “a real No Kings moment. ” describing it as coming after an order to drop a corruption case against then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams.. He also tied his campaign’s tone to the anti-President Donald Trump protest movement.
The former Justice Department prosecutor then turned his message directly on Trump. saying Trump “is literally trying to write Article One out of the Constitution — that is violating the law. ” and calling the administration “lawless.” Crosswell said he tries “to tell people corruption is a kitchen-table issue. ” adding that lawlessness and corruption have been “a key focus in this race.”
He described the moment as unusual: “I think that this is a unique moment in American history,” Crosswell said. “This is a time in this country where I think we’re really struggling for our own soul.”
The two campaign messages are now being read as a fight over what Democrats want to look like as the party tries to broaden beyond its anti-Trump base.. In this Pennsylvania primary—one of the first contested races of 2026 featuring a battleground seat—party leaders across the ideological spectrum have lined up behind Brooks. including Sen.. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Pennsylvania Gov.. Josh Shapiro.
Democratic operatives working on and watching the contest point to a simple rationale: Brooks is seen as the candidate best positioned to connect with voters in the district on economic hardships. with the economy expected to be the top issue this fall.. They also argue the party needs more candidates they describe as “everymen. ” pointing out that Brooks would be one of the only House members without a college degree if elected.
It’s an effort to bring the party closer to voters who feel the system is tilted away from them.. Party leaders rallying behind Brooks is “an admission that we need more normal people and fewer lawyers. ” said Andrew Mamo. a spokesperson for The Bench. a Democratic group boosting candidates across the midterm map. including Brooks.. “There are far more firefighters in the country than a-list lawyers.”
Crosswell, meanwhile, fits a familiar swing-district template.. Military experience. prosecutorial experience. and a readiness for anti-Trump messaging are central to his pitch. and he has tapped donor support that has boosted his fundraising above his competition.. Crosswell said. “They don’t have to just hear me promise I’ll stand up to Trump — I’ve already done it.” He added. “I took a tough stand at a time when people were bending the knee … I think I’ve fought harder against this administration than any candidate. not in this race. in the country.. I think that’s evident that matters to people.”
Brooks. Crosswell. and two other Democrats—former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine. an engineer and one-time aide to former Sen.. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania—are competing to face off with first-term Republican Rep.. Ryan Mackenzie in the fall.. Mackenzie defeated former Rep.. Susan Wild by 1 point in 2024.. Trump carried the district by 3 points in 2024, and Biden won it by 1 in 2020.. Shapiro carried the district by 12 points in 2022.
One detail that has drawn attention is the scale of prominent support for Brooks.. Sanders and Shapiro’s endorsement together “certainly attracted attention. ” and David Melman. elected leader of the Pennsylvania Joint Board of Workers United SEIU. said at a Brooks event on Monday. “When you can get them both to endorse you. maybe it says more about Bob than it does about either of them.”
While Brooks’ backers also include former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. and the Working Families Party. he has not put the primary away.. Through last month. Crosswell generated the biggest fundraising haul. outraising Brooks by nearly $600. 000. though the largest outside spending has gone on Brooks’ behalf through Stronger Together PA. which has spent more than $1 million boosting him.. A survey sponsored by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC showed McClure within striking distance last month. and that was before a super PAC with ties to Republicans began spending to boost him in the race.
Brooks has also spent time arguing that his coalition comes from people leaving the party.. In an interview. Brooks said his prominent supporters “see 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.” He said. “They see that it needs change. and I can offer that change. ” adding. “So those people that have left the party can look at me and see themselves in me.”
His allies have used a different line of reassurance: that the “working-class” frame isn’t meant to exclude other Democrats.. The resurfaced social media posts about Brooks have complicated that message. with Republicans pointing to the coalition he pulled together as evidence of a rare candidate—but also saying they expected him to break away more clearly as scrutiny mounted.
A longtime Republican operative in Pennsylvania described Brooks as “kind of a unicorn candidate. ” while a national Republican operative working in the state said they were surprised “Brooks hasn’t been able to pull away.” Brooks. a gruff retired firefighter. owns a snow-removal and lawn care business and coaches baseball locally.. Still, his working-class credentials were questioned after older social media posts were obtained by The Washington Post.. Those posts included calling former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick a “douchebag” over his police brutality protests.. Brooks’ credentials were also questioned after a financial disclosure with the Federal Election Commission estimated his and his wife’s assets between $148. 000 and $3.89 million.
More pressure arrived this month after 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’ running mate.. Axios first reported on the remarks, which were recorded.. NBC News separately obtained the recording.
“I worry that what we’re trying to do is say, ‘Hey, look at this guy.. He’s just like you. ’” said a Democratic operative who has worked with multiple potential 2028 contenders. in an interview requesting anonymity.. “Selectively, that can be helpful.. But everybody thought we were doing that with [Sen.. John] Fetterman, and it didn’t really work.”
The operative added that it “does seem like the party is calibrating their preferred candidate a little bit, where they are an outsider, everyman, every person,” and the remarks point to the friction inside the party over how “outsider” messaging lands with swing voters.
Brooks apologized for some of the posts but said they were being “selectively“ dug up.. He said the investments were part of his wife’s retirement savings. and both Brooks and Shapiro insist Brooks misspoke when describing the episode with Shapiro and his union in 2024.. A Shapiro aide reiterated the governor’s support for Brooks and their longstanding relationship. noting that the two plan to campaign together in Bethlehem on Sunday.
Mamo said the continued backing shows the coalition is holding.. “The fact that all of these Democrats stayed behind him and said. ‘Yes. Bob is our guy. ’ shows that we are building that bigger tent. ” he said.. “We are not trying to kick people out because they don’t fit 100% of what Josh Shapiro or Bernie Sanders or anybody else thinks. if they’re great people with great values who care about their community. we want to get behind you.”
But Brooks’ rivals reject the idea that the full party has moved behind him.. Wild, the former congresswoman for the district, has backed Obando-Derstine, while former Rep.. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, who represented the neighboring 8th District, is backing Crosswell.. McClure said local endorsements in the district show the party is not unified.. “So the entire Democratic Party is not for Bob Brooks,” McClure said.. “Maybe the entire D.C.. establishment is, and you’ll have to ask Brooks why he’s the preferred candidate of the DC establishment.”
Obando-Derstine said the race’s “key contours” are being missed. including that the majority of voters in the district are women and that the Latino community—about 20% of the district—is a substantial segment of the electorate.. She said. “One thing that I know about this district is that they’re independent thinkers. ” and added. “They don’t like for outside forces who are not from this district to tell them who they should vote for.”
Bethlehem City Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith said she would be pleased with any of the non-Crosswell candidates winning on Tuesday.. She described the final weeks as increasingly heated.. “It’s become really like a bloodbath in the last month or so. more Democrats running against each other. ” Smith said.. She added, the race “has raptured groups with this party, which just makes me sad and concerned.”
The urgency isn’t limited to Brooks’ candidacy.. The contest has drawn comparisons to other blue-collar-coded Democratic and independent candidates with varying results early in 2026. including Oyster fisherman Graham Platner in Maine’s Senate race. industrial mechanic Dan Osborn in Nebraska’s Senate contest. and veteran Nathan Sage. who ended his bid for Senate in Iowa.
Because the race is in Pennsylvania, Brooks has been compared to Sen.. John Fetterman, described in the district as the state’s most prominent everyman.. Brooks, however, challenged that parallel directly.. “We are completely different people,” Brooks said.. “I have worked all my life.. John has a trust fund.. Not a knock on him.. [But he was] kind of pretending to be a working-class guy.. There’s no pretending here.”
He added, “You know who doesn’t think I’m John Fetterman?” Brooks said. “Josh Shapiro. Bernie Sanders. Those guys don’t think I’m like John Fetterman.”
A Working Families Party spokesperson and Fetterman campaign veteran. Nick Gavio. said the contest tests two theories about the kind of Democrat who can best represent a swing district and appeal beyond the party’s natural coalition: “A working-class populist or a former Republican who has turned on his party.”
Gavio said. “Crosswell is a candidate who was perfect for 2018.” He added. “He is just a candidate for an era that isn’t really there anymore.. I don’t know that swing voters around the country are looking for that right now.. Anyone who was looking for that is already a Democrat and will vote for whoever wins this race.”
The pressure points appear to be lining up around the same question in two different forms: Brooks’ claim that sending “people like us” to Washington can counter a system he says is rigged. and Crosswell’s insistence that corruption and lawlessness define the moment and must be fought in a race shaped by prosecutorial and anti-Trump experience.
From the endorsements to the fundraising figures and the controversies that resurfaced this cycle. the Tuesday primary is forcing Democrats to show what they believe will carry them through a fall matchup with Ryan Mackenzie—while the candidates themselves argue over what “everyman” really means in a district where Trump won by 3 points in 2024 and where Shapiro won by 12 points in 2022.
Bob Brooks Ryan Crosswell Pennsylvania 7th Congressional District Democratic primary Josh Shapiro Bernie Sanders Lehigh Valley Ryan Mackenzie working-class candidate anti-Trump messaging social media controversy