U.S. House · Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District
Bob Brooks
Former President, Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters AssociationD
- Race
- U.S. House · Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District
- Result
- Bob Brooks, projected winner
- Opponent
- Ryan Mackenzie (R)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did10 statements · 0 votes
Healthcare: Restore Medicaid cuts and provide Medicare for All.
Expand public health coverage
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotU.S. House · 7
2026-11-03
| Ryan Mackenzie R | incumbent |
| Bob Brooks D | challenger |
Won the May 19 Democratic primary with 41.0% of the vote
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Healthcare: Restore Medicaid cuts and provide Medicare for All.
Supports restoring Medicaid cuts made under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and providing "Medicare for All."[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Childcare: Repeal Headstart cuts, expand subsidies and publicly funded preschool.
Supports repealing Head Start cuts and expanding childcare subsidies and publicly funded preschool.[4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
We need to pass a billionaire minimum tax: a baseline tax rate the ultra-wealthy can’t dodge.
His campaign platform calls for a billionaire minimum tax and repealing the 2017 tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
And yes, sometimes cut rules and red tape that make it harder and more expensive to get homes built.
His campaign platform supports building more starter homes and, in some cases, cutting rules and red tape that make homes harder to build.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
We need to codify Roe v. Wade and pass legislation to overturn Trump abortion bans in red states.
His campaign platform calls for codifying Roe v. Wade and passing legislation to overturn state abortion bans.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
We need common-sense laws: universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and enforcing waiting periods so dangerous people don’t get their hands on guns.
His campaign platform calls for universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole and enforcing waiting periods, while saying he respects the Second Amendment.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Bring back renewables cut by Trump, invest in new nuclear and natural gas power plants, and crack down on price-gouging utility monopolies.
His campaign platform calls for bringing back renewables cut by the Trump administration and building wind and solar projects, alongside new nuclear and natural gas plants.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
We need to raise it, and tie it to inflation.
His campaign platform calls for raising the minimum wage and tying it to inflation.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
I will not support using federal money to hand vouchers to private schools while public schools are being starved.
His campaign platform says he will not support using federal money for vouchers to private schools.[5]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
taking money out of working people's pockets, raising prices and making it harder for small businesses to survive.
Spotlight PA reports he criticizes tariffs in campaign materials as raising prices and hurting small businesses.[6]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Democrat Bob Brooks won the election for Pennsylvania's 7th District on November 3, 2026, defeating Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, and is the former president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association. He worked as a Bethlehem firefighter from 2005 to 2025 and led the association from 2021. He won the May 19, 2026 Democratic primary.[1][2][3]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
According to his campaign website, Brooks was raised primarily by a single mother who worked as a bartender, and he moved to Pennsylvania more than 30 years ago.[7] The site says that before becoming a firefighter he held jobs including dishwasher, short-order cook, bartender, landscaper, warehouse worker, pizza delivery driver and Teamster.[7]
Brooks worked as a firefighter in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, from 2005 to 2025 and retired from the department in 2025.[2][7] He held multiple positions in his firefighters' union and was elected president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association in 2021.[2][7] According to his campaign website, he helped lead a campaign to pass mental health coverage for firefighters with post-traumatic stress.[7] In 2013 he started Brooks Lawn Care, a snow removal and lawn care business.[2][7]
Brooks has coached youth and varsity baseball at Nazareth Area High School, and according to his campaign website he lives in Nazareth with his wife, Jen.[2][7] He announced his candidacy on August 26, 2025, as the fifth Democrat in the race, with no prior elected office, and won the primary on May 19, 2026.[2][3] During the campaign, he focused on affordability, health care and opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.[2][3] He won the November 3, 2026 general election with 56.1% of the vote to Ryan Mackenzie's 43.9%, according to unofficial results reported by NBC News.[1]
In their own words
Priorities
- Lists affordability, health care (restoring Medicaid cuts and "Medicare for All"), housing, childcare, and utilities as his three key campaign messages, along with protecting Social Security and enforcing antitrust rules.[4]
- Says he wants to take money out of politics, end stock trading in Congress, enforce term limits, and make the wealthy pay their fair share.[4]
- Names wages, safe working conditions, the social safety net, health care, and affordable housing as the public-policy areas he is most passionate about.[4]
Campaign money$2.4M raised · 83% from individuals · FEC through 2026-06-30
Totals this cycle
Bars share one scale (raised = full). Cash on hand can include money carried over from earlier cycles.
Who gave
- Individuals $1.9M
- PACs & committees $403K
- Party $5,000
- Own money & loans $3,500
Largest committee contributions
- Zinc Collective PAC PAC$23K
- Democracy Engine, Inc., PAC PAC$19K
- Machinists Non Partisan Political League of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers PAC$10K
- Progressive Voters of America PAC$10K
- International Association of Firefighters Interested in Registration and Education PAC PAC$10K
- Int'l Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (IPAL) PAC$10K
- Democracy Summer Leadership PAC PAC$10K
- Blue Hen Federal PAC PAC$10K
- SD PAC PAC$10K
- Medicare for All PAC$10K
Direct contributions only; outside spending is not included. Individual donors are itemized in the FEC’s receipts. All itemized receipts ↗ FEC filing ↗
Profile: /people/bob-brooks
Compare all 2 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District election results 2026 · NBC News News report
- 2.Bob Brooks (Pennsylvania) - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2025 Candidate's own words
- 3.Firefighter union boss Bob Brooks jumps into Lehigh Valley congressional race · Lehigh Valley Public Media · 2025-08-26 News report
- 4.Bob Brooks (Pennsylvania) - Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2025 Candidate's own words
- 5.Bob's Platform · Bob Brooks for Congress Candidate's own words
- 6.Election 2026: Where Mackenzie, Brooks stand on the economy · Spotlight PA News report
- 7.Meet Bob Brooks · Bob Brooks for Congress · 2026-10-21 Candidate's own words