Candidates talk fighting for 7th District seat in Congress

The midterm elections are rapidly approaching and one of the most closely watched Congressional races is right here in our region: Pennsylvania’s 7th District in the Lehigh Valley. NBC10 political reporter Lauren Mayk sat down with the two major party candidates who are running. NBC10 asked both candidates for the same amount of time for an interview – the Brooks campaign gave us less time than we asked for, limiting our time with the candidate.

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie on fighting to keep his seat

:00 – Intro

:28 – Mackenzie’s pitch to voters

1:37 – Effects of the economy

3:05 – Mackenzie’s accomplishments while in office.

5:08 – Housing costs

6:21 – When homeowners will see lower prices

7:06 – Changes to Medicaid and SNAP benefits

8:47 – Finding money for SNAP benefits in Pennsylvania’s budget

9:53 – Who could lose access to Medicaid

11:23 – Meeting new requirements for Medicaid

11:43 – Resolving confusion around Medicaid, SNAP changes

13:02 – Ending the war in Iran

14:01 – If the war in Iran has been successful

15:27 – How long it will take to end war in Iran

16:03 – If the war in Iran has lasted as long as McKenzie expected

16:30 – Legislation for data center requirements

 18:36 – Moratorium on data centers

19:30 – Sales tax exemptions for data center developers

20:38 – Voting for tax break legislation

21:02 – Oversight of ICE in Congress

22:28 – Shapiro Administration responds to SNAP error rate

Bob Brooks on trying to win the seat in Congress

:00 – Intro

:31 – Brooks’s pitch to voters

1:19 – Did Brooks vote for President Donald Trump?

1:50 – Connecting with Trump voters

2:47 – Changes to no tax on tips policy

4:02 – Voting to repeal Big Beautiful Bill

4:29 – If President Trump should be impeached

5:29 – If an impeachment is possible

6:28 – Social media post controversy and gun violence

8:10 – Gun laws and policy changes

8:55 – If Brooks’ thoughts on gun laws have changed

9:42 – Debt payment to mother-in-law

10:23 – Being trusted with tax-payer money

10:40 – Thoughts on Medicare-for-all policy

11:48 – If Brooks would sign off on additional taxes to pay for a Medicare-for-all policy

12:55 – Setting standards on data centers

13:49 – Bucks County race candidates

Subscribe to Battleground Politics anywhere you get your podcasts: Spotify | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | RSS | Watch on YouTube

Lehigh Valley Oct 12

Spanish-language radio show overflows with frustrated voters in Pa. battleground

Battleground Politics Oct 2

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker on first 1,000 days, politics and policies