We knew the Democratic primary for the Lehigh Valley’s 7th Congressional District would be controversial.
With one month left until primary school on May 19, we will soon find out just how controversial this is.
Four candidates for nomination – Bob Brooks, Ryan Crosswell, Lamont McClureAND Carol Obando-Derstine – they met during the second debate last week at Cedar Crest College in Allentown.
Each quartet highlighted their campaigns and trumpeted why voters should support them against the incumbent Republican Representative Ryan Mackenzie during the 90-minute forum.
And while questions surround each candidate, more questions about Brooks arise every day.
By some accounts, Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association, had a complex evening, barely answering questions from a reporter Ryan Gaylorbefore returning to his arguments.
Gaylor asked him one question about how he will reduce the nation’s warming carbon dioxide emissions and better prepare for the increasingly grave impacts of climate change.
Brooks could only offer that all of President Trump’s climate cuts should be “returned to legislation.” He then talked about his time driving a snowplow before returning to “replacing the cuts that have already been made. It’s just about taking this concept back to the Legislature and dealing with them and putting them back into use because everything we’ve been removed from, and that’s what we’re looking at right now.”
He was also asked to correct a statement that he banned giving money to political action committees in politics, even though he accepted more from PACs than the other three candidates.
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” Brooks replied. “I’m not a congressman. I can’t make rules like that. Rules are made and you have to play by the rules that apply.”
Pressed on whether he makes a distinction between the corporate PACs he opposes and the money PACs have given him, Brooks said: “Look, I’d like to get all the money out of politics, but you’ve got to be able to work and be able to finance your campaign. And you can’t finance a campaign with 20 bucks.”
PoliticsPA has learned that after the debate ended, representatives of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) informed the debate organizers that they did not want to share video of the event online. The DCCC cited concerns that the footage would appear in GOP ads attacking the primary winner of the general campaign.
To others, the suggestion seemed to be a tactic to protect Brooks, from whom he received support Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Bernie Sandersand former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigiegamong others.
A video of the debate can be seen here.
At least one observer believes Shapiro’s endorsement of Brooks was aimed at bringing rank-and-file workers back into the Democratic tent after unions and their members left the party in 2024 in favor of Mackenzie and President Donald Trump.
There were also concerns about other candidates, especially Crosswell, who recently returned to the area to run for office. He served as a federal prosecutor in Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, and San Diego, California, before moving to Washington, D.C., in the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice during the Trump administration.
He he resigned from his position after he was ordered to drop his criminal case against the mayor of New York Eric Adams and changed parties after becoming a registered Republican after entering into the Democratic Party, which was better aligned with his values.
While Crosswell worked with the Justice Department during the Trump administration, Brooks publicly supported members of the Republican Party on their policies, especially when it came to first responders. While that in itself could be considered good policy for his position, Brooks wasn’t fond of the former either President Barack Obama and the former NFL quarterback’s decision Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem before a game in 2016.
Brooks was also in the news due to a lawsuit involving his ex-wife and his then-mother-in-law. In 2008, his in-laws, Michael AND Charles Wileygave him and his then-wife Jennifer a plot of land for residential development, bearing the costs of dividing the property in the amount of $55,000. The money was not repaid and in 2008, a promissory note was prepared and signed between the parties to commemorate Brooks’ debt. Following foreclosure, Brooks will pay Carol Wiley $55,500 at 6.5% interest in 120 monthly installments of $630.19. These payments were never made.
In August 2020, a breach of contract jury trial was held, resulting in a judgment against Brooks and an award of damages in the amount of $130,386.86. He appealed his loss, but the decision was upheld in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in September 2021. In February, Carol Wiley filed another lawsuit against Brooks stating this the debt has not yet been paid and that he illegally transferred ownership of the house his second wife, Jennifer Lynne Brooks.
During the forum, Brooks said the case did not call into question his fitness to hold office.
“No. It’s a joke,” he said.
“My ex-wife has been supporting me and the campaign through all of this, and that says a lot. While my political opponents, Ryan Mackenzie and the GOP, focus on my former in-laws, I will focus on what is happening to the residents of PA-07.”
After all this turmoil, it appears that the Brooks campaign is closing ranks.
Recently, the nonprofit Lehigh Valley News and PBS39-TV conducted a series of individual interviews with three of the four candidates, which will air locally April 21-25. Brooks’ campaign, after initially agreeing to appear, was abruptly canceled.
Former congresswoman Zuzanna Dzikawho served as PA-07 for six years before being ousted by Mackenzie in 2024, said she was “appalled” by Brooks’ behavior in a comment on her personal Facebook page, where she posts her maiden name.
“IMHO, this is disqualifying. First, voters deserve all the information they can get about these candidates. Second, who does Bob Brooks think he is? This smacks of ENTITLEMENT. Third, and equally important in my opinion: DON’T INSULT JOURNALISTS.”
It is worth noting that Wild supported the lone female in the competition – Obando-Derstine. She is a former engineer and regional director at PPL and previously served as a regional manager in the U.S. Senate. Bob Casey.
The fourth candidate is the only candidate who has served in the political arena – a former Northampton County executive Lamont McClure.
At this point, donors appear to prefer Crosswell and Brooks as the Democratic primary candidates. From January to March, Crosswell raised $483,818, while Brooks wasn’t far behind at $436,292.
Obando-Derstine was a distant third with $111,283, while McClure earned just $20,000.
The race is one of the most closely watched in the Commonwealth and across the country as Democrats hope to flip the Lehigh Valley seat as part of an overall strategy to regain the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Democrats have a 41-38% voter registration advantage over Republicans, with nearly 1 in 6 (17%) registered “no affiliation” or independent.
The 7th Congressional District includes all of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties and part of western Monroe County.
