Pleasant Corner, Pennsylvania – On a clear day, hikers standing atop Bake Oven Knob, a high point along the Appalachian Trail in Lehigh Furnas, Pennsylvania, can see much of state Sen. Jarrett Coleman's campaign district.
Beneath the peaks of the Blue Mountains lies a patchwork of forests and farms that were historically home to Pennsylvania Dutch communities. On the horizon, the diverse footprint of Allentown, Pennsylvania's third largest city, continues to expand.
Beyond Allentown are mixed suburbs such as Emmaus and Coopersburg, before giving way again to rural areas such as Hozensack and Old Zionsville, the latter being the hometown of former Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. .
As Pennsylvania's more friendly economic environment drew an influx of immigrants from New York and New Jersey, its farmland was gradually replaced by residential developments and corporate warehouses.
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Perched high in the Blue Mountains in Germansville, Pennsylvania, Bake Oven Knob overlooks Lehigh County. (Charles Crates)
All of these factors combine to create what Allentown's Democratic mayor, Matt Turk, calls the state's “sungiest” area, a longtime standard-bearer.
Coleman, a Republican and airline pilot who entered politics as an outspoken conservative member of the Parkland School Board in the midst of a national controversy, said Republicans are poised to do well in the Lehigh Valley this year. He said he is doing so.
“We are seeing the highest levels of excitement and motivation from the people of the Lehigh Valley, and we are hopeful that participation numbers will exceed 2020 levels,” Coleman said. Republicans underperformed in both Lehigh and Northampton counties that year.
“Lehigh County includes a core of “blue'' cities, but life has become harder for everyone, regardless of political party, under the current administration. are also voting for Republican candidates.”
“Economic, border and regional security remain top concerns for the people of the Lehigh Valley.”
Democrats are also aiming to take back the Pennsylvania Senate, and the state party chairman, Sen. Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), said in a recent interview that a breakthrough is within reach.
But when it comes to Harrisburg and Washington, Coleman said “table issues” are a top priority in the district, which also includes parts of Philadelphia's “swing region” Bucks County, and will help Republicans at both levels. Ta.
“It's clear that living conditions for the majority of Pennsylvanians, especially those in the Lehigh Valley, are far worse off than they were four years ago. There is a platform with concrete measures in place in Pennsylvania and across the country.
He added that Democrats' “demonization” of President Trump has done nothing for voters' pocketbooks or public safety through open borders.
Alongside Bake Oven Knob and adjacent to the county lake now named after him, lies the property of Revolutionary-era farmer Frederick Reaser.
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As British troops approached Philadelphia in 1777, Reaser loaded the Liberty Bell onto a wagon during a trip to take produce to market and took it back to Lehigh County, where Red-Headed Soldiers melted it down for ammunition. prevented.
This kind of patriotic and community sentiment is reflected in local churches and other events, from American flags flying in gardens during the holidays, to Jacksonville's oyster banquets to German Groundhog Day spreads at the local Grundsau Rosch. It still exists in that part of the valley, with the fire department hosting community dinners.
A few blocks west of the church where Reaser ultimately hid the bell is the headquarters of the Lehigh County Republican Committee.
Chairman Joe Bishaw said the party's presence is omnipresent at many local events, including the Schnecksville Fair and the Allentown Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Built in 1882, Schlicher's Covered Bridge spans Game Preserve Road over Jordan Creek in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. In 2024, Donald Trump held a rally in this town. (Fox News Digital/Charles Crates)
President Trump held a rally at the Schnecksville Exhibition Hall earlier this year, touting the region's importance in this cycle.
“We have literature on the candidates and we are listening and talking to residents about this issue,” Bichot said, adding that the party's float won third place in the aforementioned parade and that it took only a few hours He added that more than a dozen participants were registered to vote.
The party also registers voters and says it has connections with civic leaders in the Jewish, Syrian and Muslim communities.
“The top two issues we hear about are borders and the economy,” Bichot said.
”[Voters] I want a new direction. They don't believe Biden and Harris' open borders policy is good for their wallets and safe for their families. ”
In neighboring Northampton County, home to Bethlehem, Easton, and smaller cities such as Nazareth and Wind Gap, conservatives are similarly pounding the sidewalks to spread their message.
“Our local political parties are very involved. We can communicate with our voters. We can text them, we can call them, and we can communicate with them. is receptive to our requests…helping us go door to door and making phone calls,” said Andrew Azan III, director of the Northampton County Republican Committee. he said.
Recent construction on 8th Street in Allentown exposed old-style campaign signs for Bill Hite, the city's last Republican mayor from 1994 to 2002. (Charles Crates)
Azan told Fox News Digital that his county had a “waiting list” for Trump and Vance signs, and that the Republican candidate red flagged it in 2016 but lost in 2020. spoke.
“That's a positive sign,” he joked.
The party is working to respond to the changing diversity of the Lehigh Valley, where it stands, as the retired steelworker population in Bethlehem and Easton is replaced by new Hispanic and African American residents. has adjusted its message, but not its principles, Azan added.
For that matter, local residents are more receptive to a conservative platform, and the right wing is “more united than I've ever seen,” said Tom Carroll, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Tea Party.
“They're more concerned than ever about losing the country to the Marxist and socialist policies that are coming out of both Biden and now, of course, Kamala Harris,” Carroll said. . The Tea Party group is the largest in the country, with a recorded membership of 7,000 people. member.
“She's going to open the borders and enact the tax policies that she's been talking about. [levying] Unrealized capital gains. Our voters are concerned because they are educated and they know how it affects the economy. ”
The Moravian Star shines on South Mountain above the Philip J. Fahey Memorial Bridge in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. (Fox News Digital/Charles Crates)
Carroll, an attorney who also helps lead the Bethlehem City Republican Party, has been in politics since the 2010 midterm elections and recognizes that Republicans typically lag Democrats in this area most cycles. said.
“But voter outreach is going very well…in Pennsylvania, there's a lot of grassroots knocking on doors, meeting with people, a lot of events, a lot of different campaign stand-ins.
“We believe in President Trump. We want him to win. And we recognize that Pennsylvania is the most important state in the nation.”
Fox News Digital's Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
