Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District covers the Lehigh Valley in the eastern part of the state, taking in all of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton counties plus a slice of Monroe County. It’s anchored by Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, and it’s one of the most competitive U.S. House seats in the country. Republican Ryan Mackenzie currently represents it, having unseated Democrat Susan Wild in 2024 by about one point.
Where the District Is
The 7th spans roughly 1,168 square miles. The Lehigh River runs through its urban core, linking Allentown (population about 126,000) and Bethlehem, with Easton to the east where the Lehigh meets the Delaware at the New Jersey border.1Census Reporter. Congressional District 7, PA Profile Data
The character changes quickly as you leave the valley floor. The Allentown–Bethlehem corridor is dense suburban and urban development, with hospitals, strip retail, and older industrial sites. Head northwest into Carbon County or north into Monroe and the terrain turns rural, with forested ridges, small towns, and second-home communities near the Poconos. Interstate 78 is the district’s economic spine, connecting it to New York City about 80 miles east and to Harrisburg roughly the same distance west.
Who Lives and Works There
About 788,000 people live in the district, with a median age of 41.3.1Census Reporter. Congressional District 7, PA Profile Data The population has been growing; Lehigh County alone added about 3% between the 2020 census and 2024 estimates, much of it from households priced out of the New York and northern New Jersey markets.2U.S. Census Bureau. Lehigh County, Pennsylvania QuickFacts
Roughly 65% of residents identify as White non-Hispanic. Hispanic or Latino residents make up about 23% and are concentrated in Allentown, which has one of the highest Latino population shares of any mid-sized city in the Northeast. Median household income is around $82,200, slightly above the statewide figure, and about a third of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.3Data USA. Congressional District 7, PA
Healthcare dominates the local economy. Lehigh Valley Health Network employs about 18,000 people and is the region’s single largest employer.4Lehigh Valley Health Network. We Are a Great Place to Work St. Luke’s University Health Network is close behind, and together the two hospital systems and their affiliated physician groups account for four of the top five employers in Lehigh County.5Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Top 50 Employers Lehigh County Mack Trucks still builds heavy-duty vehicles at its Lower Macungie plant, and Air Products, the industrial gases company headquartered in Trexlertown, is the fifth-largest employer in the Lehigh Valley. Logistics and warehousing have grown rapidly along the I-78 corridor over the past decade.
Who Represents the District
Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican from Lower Macungie Township, took office on January 3, 2025.6Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Ryan Mackenzie He previously served in the Pennsylvania state House. In the current Congress, he sits on three committees: Education and Workforce, where he chairs the Workforce Protections Subcommittee overseeing wage and hour law, workplace safety, and workers’ compensation at the federal level7Committee on Education and the Workforce. Subcommittee on Workforce Protections; Foreign Affairs, serving on the East Asia and Pacific and Western Hemisphere subcommittees; and Homeland Security, with subcommittee assignments covering counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and emergency management.
His primary district office is at 1125 South Cedar Crest Boulevard, Suite 109, in Allentown. It’s open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the phone number is (484) 781-6000.8Congressman Ryan Mackenzie. Congressman Ryan Mackenzie Announces Opening of Central Office
How the Seat Became a Swing District
The district carrying the number “7” a decade ago was a different place entirely. Under the map drawn after the 2010 census, the 7th was anchored in the Philadelphia suburbs, taking in most of Delaware County and pieces of Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Lancaster counties. Its contorted shape, drawn to pack Republican voters together, drew comparisons to “Goofy kicking Donald Duck,” and the seat stayed safely Republican for years.
In January 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck that map down as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander under the state constitution’s Free and Equal Elections Clause. The case was League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. When the legislature and governor could not agree on a replacement, the court drew a remedial map itself and ordered it used starting that year. The new 7th shifted away from the Philadelphia suburbs and into the Lehigh Valley.
After the 2020 census, Pennsylvania redrew its congressional lines again. The map first used in 2022 refined the Lehigh Valley focus by adding all of Carbon County and part of Monroe County, and it remains in effect today.
Recent Election Results
Every general election since the move to the Lehigh Valley has been close. Susan Wild won the newly configured seat in 2018 with about 54% against Republican Marty Nothstein, in a strong national year for Democrats. She held it in 2020 by a tighter margin as the presidential race in the district came in within a point.
Under the current map, Wild defeated Republican Lisa Scheller in 2022 by 50.8% to 49.2%, a gap of fewer than 6,000 votes out of nearly 297,000 cast.9Ballotpedia. Pennsylvania 7th Congressional District Election, 2022 In 2024, Mackenzie unseated Wild 50.5% to 49.5%, a margin of roughly 4,000 votes, in one of the most expensive House contests in the country.8Congressman Ryan Mackenzie. Congressman Ryan Mackenzie Announces Opening of Central Office
Voting in 2026
Pennsylvania’s 2026 primary is scheduled for May 19, 2026, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.10Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Upcoming Elections The candidate filing window ran from February 17 through March 10, 2026, at 5 p.m. If you plan to vote in the primary, your voter registration must be in by May 4, 2026.11Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Voter Registration Pennsylvania runs closed primaries, so you must be registered with a party to vote in that party’s contest.
Given recent margins, the 7th will likely draw heavy national spending again. Mackenzie enters the cycle as a first-term incumbent, and whether a credible Democratic challenger emerges from the primary will shape how deeply the national party organizations invest.