Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican candidate Ryan McKenzie is expected to defeat incumbent Democratic Representative Susan Wilde in the state's 7th Congressional District race. Wilde announced at the race that he had conceded the race. Post × early Wednesday morning.
Wilde has represented Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, which includes Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, since 2018 and was expected to face a tough race from his own party. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee identified the district as vulnerable to Republican defeat heading into the election cycle earlier this year.
The Democratic congressman ran on a platform of protecting abortion access, combating LGBT discrimination, affordable housing, and investing in infrastructure. Wilde, who has been endorsed by President Biden this term, has voted overwhelmingly along party lines, with 100% of her votes for bills supporting Biden, according to FiveThirtyEight data.
Meanwhile, Mr. McKenzie called for securing U.S. borders, energy independence, lower taxes, and reduced government spending. Former President Donald Trump endorsed McKenzie earlier this year after the 45th president withheld his support in the 2022 race in which Wilde faced Republican challenger Lisa Scherer.
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Left: Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Susan Wilde in a January 2022 file photo. Right: Ryan McKenzie in an undated photo. (Getty Images/Ryan McKenzie Office)
“Ryan McKenzie has my full support. He will never let you down!” Trump wrote in Truth Social in August.
McKenzie currently serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, a seat he has held since 2012, including during redistricting.
Pennsylvania Congressman Ryan McKenzie. (State Rep. Ryan McKenzie)
Wilde County has faced tough redistricting since the 2022 cycle, when redistricting for the 2020 census went into effect and included votes from Republican-leaning Carbon County.
Ahead of the 2022 campaign, Wilde drew national attention when he said “we may have to educate” rural Trump voters to win over them.
On a Zoom call earlier this year, Wilde recalled how he felt when he learned that his district included counties that “drank the Trump Kool-Aid” after the election. electoral district That's because her congressional district was redrawn.
“Since Trump came out, they've gone from kind of working-class, blue counties to really red counties, drinking the Trump Kool-Aid. So that's part of their district. “I was disappointed when it happened,” she said.
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Congresswoman Susan Wild speaks during a press conference on September 21, 2022. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images for Protect Our Care)
Wilde later apologized for the comment “to anyone who may have been offended.”
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Pennsylvania has emerged as a key battleground state in this presidential election. Trump narrowly won the state over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, but President Biden declared victory in the Keystone State in the 2020 election.
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Fox News Digital's Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
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