Pennsylvania firefighters’ union head Bob Brooks sailed to victory in his Lehigh Valley Democratic primary Tuesday night, marking a win likely to be claimed by the left and center alike while progressives await news in a hotly contested race in Philadelphia.
Brooks handily defeated his primary opponents in the 7th Congressional District, former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell; former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure; and Carol Obando-Derstine, an engineer who previously worked for former Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and former Gov. Tom Wolf.
Brooks campaigned on affordability and fighting corruption, highlighting his union bona fides rather than aligning with a specific wing of the Democratic Party.
On the campaign trail, the retired firefighter argued that the real divide in his district was between the working class and the billionaire class and their allies. “The whole system is rigged against us, and the only way we’re going to fix it is by sending people like us to Washington, D.C., to represent us,” Brooks said at a recent event.
As the 7th District race was called for Brooks, voters waited for results in Philadelphia’s 3rd District, where progressives and moderates were in a tight showdown. Just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday, the left’s candidate, state Rep. Chris Rabb, held a growing lead over Dr. Ala Stanford, a more moderate Democrat backed by a pro-Israel super PAC.
