BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Campaign spending in the Lehigh Valley's congressional race through the first half of 2026 is off to a historic pace. Here are some key takeaways on how finances are shaping Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District.
Spending has already topped the 2018 race
The Lehigh Valley's prominence as a key congressional battleground traces back to 2018. That's when Democrat Susan Wild pulled out a victory against Republican Marty Nothstein. Open Secrets put total spending in the race at $8.6 million.
The 2026 campaign has already surpassed that mark with four months still to go. Lehigh Valley Public Media's review of the most recent campaign finance reports found $9.3 million in spending by the candidates, their allies and dark money groups.
That total also outpaces where the 2024 election cycle stood at the same point. Small financial investments were made during the primaries, but spending exploded in the general election, reaching $38 million, a record for the district.
Dark money leads the way
Mackenzie and Democrat Bob Brooks haven't pinched pennies in this race, spending $1.5 million and $1.3 million in their campaigns to date. But a pair of competing Super PACs have racked up the totals to date.
Stronger Together PA dropped more than $1.78 million on media buys for Brooks ahead of the May primary. The group has primarily been funded by The Bench, a hybrid PAC working to elect new Democratic candidates; labor unions, including the International Association of Firefighters; and FF PAC, a hybrid PAC that's received funding from Future Forward PAC, the main Super PAC supporting Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
Meanwhile, Lead Left PAC spent more than $1.7 million this spring. At the time, candidates speculated it was a Republican effort to meddle in the Democratic primary by promoting former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure.
The paper trail shows Lead Left's funding originated with the American Prosperity Alliance, a nonprofit group with ties to former Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
National Republicans rally to Mackenzie
FEC filings show Mackenzie had more than $2.9 million on hand at the end of June, after raising more than $631,000 between April and June.
Most of that money came from joint-fundraising committees. House Speaker Mike Johnson's Grow the Majority PAC was his single biggest supporter, donating $88,281 to his campaign.
Emmer Majority Builders, a joint-fundraising committee connected to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., supplied another $32,495. Defend Our Majority, another joint-fundraising committee connected to Johnson and the National Republican Congressional Committee, contributed $49,244.
The NRCC is also a participant in Mackenzie for America, a joint-fundraising committee dedicated to re-electing Mackenzie. The PAC directed another $76,225 to the congressman's main fundraising arm, Mackenzie for Congress Committee.
Brooks had a bigger haul but less cash on hand
Brooks raised more than $1.2 million over the past three months, nearly twice as much as Mackenzie. But after a competitive primary, he had only $1 million on hand as of June 30.
Most of Brooks' money, almost $979,000, came from individual donors, records show. Notable supporters to his main PAC include Richard Master, CEO of the Palmer Township-based picture frame company MCS Industries, and his wife Susan Master ($7,000 total); New York Giants co-owner Jonathan Tisch ($3,500); and hedge fund CEO Jonathan Soros ($3,500).
Political action committees accounted for another $216,000 in funding. Among the groups that donated to Brooks' campaign last quarter were the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($5,000); the Congressional Progressive Caucus ($10,000); End Citizens United ($5,000); the Democratic Majority Fund ($5,000); and the Communication Workers of America ($5,000).
Good luck following the money
Navigating the labyrinth of PACs, Super PACs, hybrid PACs, leadership committees and joint-fundraising committees funneling money into this race is becoming increasingly complex.
Since securing his nomination in May, Brooks launched a new leadership committee, Ladder 2 PAC. Candidates can directly control these entities, but they're legally distinct from their campaigns. The name comes from the Bethlehem fire truck he operated before retiring in 2025.
Brooks also updated his recent FEC filing to associate his campaign with three new PACs. They include Dem Rising 2026, a joint-fundraising committee connected to U.S. Rep. Jaime Raskins; Bob Brooks Victory Fund, a joint-fundraising committee connected to the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and the Ladder 2 PAC; and The Democratic Bench Fund, a joint-fundraising committee associated with The Bench, a dark money group bankrolling Democratic causes.
Mackenzie went from being tied to nine fundraising committees at the start of 2026 to 11. His new alliances include Battleground PA, Sen. Dave McCormick's joint-fundraising committee, and the Patriot Protection Council, another NRCC joint-fundraising committee.
Remaining battlegrounds see more spending
Christopher Borick, a political scientist for Lehigh University, said a shift in national politics, rising costs and a change in the map have all contributed to the rising costs of campaigning in the Lehigh Valley.
As the nation becomes more partisan, gerrymandering has shrunk the number of competitive districts in the country, he said. That's led political parties to invest more money into the few races that can flip control of the U.S. House and Senate.
The 7th District fits that bill. It has a near-equal number of registered Democrats and Republicans and has earned a reputation as a national bellwether. It includes all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, plus a sliver of Monroe County.
"It's ripe for the picking. The district is constantly competitive," Borick said.