Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro just passed his first major test of the midterms.
Bob Brooks, a Shapiro-endorsed firefighter union leader, will take on GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in a key November battleground after clinching the Democratic nomination for Pennsylvania’s 7th District over a crowded field.
It’s a significant win for Shapiro, who helped recruit Brooks into the race as part of his aggressive push to help Democrats retake the House by flipping four competitive seats in Pennsylvania. A romp across the map could serve as a launchpad for the governor’s potential 2028 presidential campaign.
It’s also a boon to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which recently added Brooks to its “Red to Blue” program and boosted him with a pre-primary ad buy.
Brooks, a first-time candidate, leaned heavily on the highly popular governor’s imprimatur to boost him over a four-way field that included former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, and engineer Carol Obando-Derstine, who served as an adviser to former Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.).
Shapiro went all-in, endorsing Brooks and hosting a fundraiser for him in December, cutting an ad for him in the spring and stumping with him shortly before Election Day.
The governor’s support brought scrutiny on both men. News outlets unearthed Brooks’ problematic old social media posts and a messy family property dispute. Brooks suggested that Shapiro tried to retaliate against a political foe in 2024 by encouraging his union to back her GOP opponent. (Brooks later said he misspoke.)
And a mysterious outside group with apparent ties to the GOP, Lead Left PAC, spent more than $1 million boosting McClure and attempting to sink Brooks and Crosswell in the final days of the race. Voters appeared to look past it all.
Brooks had more than just Shapiro in his corner. The blue-collar everyman who worked as a bartender and moonlights as a snowplow driver is being held up by an array of Democrats as a model for how the party can win back working-class voters.
He boasts one of the broadest endorsement lists of any House challenger on the map, a roster that spans from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and from the Congressional Progressive Caucus to the Blue Dogs. He’s also brought together a cross-section of top Democratic operatives, including the progressive Fight Agency and The Bench, a new group that works to elect nontraditional Democrats.
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