Around 10:20 p.m on Tuesday night, incumbent candidate for PA-7 Ryan Mackenzie (R) took the stage at the Hyatt Hotel in Allentown after falling to Bob Brooks (D).
Mackenzie said he, the campaign and supporters did not go down without a fight. This may have been an allusion to the contentious cease-and-desist letters for defamation sent between both Brooks and Mackenzie, starting after the incoming Democrat sent Mackenzie a letter for an advertisement “riddled with blatant lies.”
He said to the audience, mostly poll workers, campaign staffers and friends, the result of the election is part of a cycle of how elections work.
Mackenzie said there will be more elections to run, more results in the favor of Republicans and more opportunities to serve the country and community.
“Nobody should give up the fight,” he said.
He said it means the world to him to be supported by his volunteer and support network.
“We’re very proud of the work we put forward (and) the campaign we put together and it just simply wasn’t our night tonight,” he said.
With politics, sports and life in general, Mackenzie said, there are going to be setbacks along the way. It’s important to learn from those things, get back up and move forward.
However, he said he doesn’t know his next steps.
Currently, Mackenzie is serving in his first term in the House of Representatives.
According to his website, he attended Parkland High School in Allentown and is a ninth-generation resident of Lehigh Valley. He went on to receive his undergraduate degree in finance and international business from New York University and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Mackenzie wasn’t the only Republican candidate to lose an election in that room, as Joe Poplawski lost the race for Bethlehem Area State Representative to Democratic incumbent Steve Samuelson, ‘86.
Poplawski said on Tuesday at the polls, he saw the energy amongst students.
“It’s really exciting to see that younger people have really taken action getting out there and helping,” Poplawski said.
He said also he’s supporting Mackenzie because he’s a Republican candidate, like himself.
Like Poplawski, attendee Samuel Negron, a Pennsylvania state constable, said he attended the event to support Ryan Mackenzie, who he first met when Mackenzie was a state representative.
“I can say for a fact, because I’ve seen Ryan show up,” Negron said. “Ryan shows up.”
Negron said he was a Democrat for over 30 years before switching to the Republican party. In 2019, he left the party because he felt Democrats weren’t acting on what they’d promised.
“I don’t feel like they do anything for us,” Negron said. “They come up with a lot of promises and when they don’t come through, they say ‘Oh, the Republicans stopped us.”
Since switching to the Republican party, Negron said he’s worked to increase Republican engagement within Puerto Rican communities. He said Mackenzie’s willingness to attend community events, including a Puerto Rican parade, contribute to more support.
Negron said back when he was a Democrat, he said it was easy to believe in the party because he never saw the other side.
He also said he believes the Republican party aligns with his values, particularly Christianity, family and entrepreneurship. He also said he was concerned with issues regarding immigration, housing affordability and the country’s economic future.
He said for young voters, it’s important to research political parties independently and consider how decisions affect their future.
Lucas Helms, a Bethlehem Republican committee member, also attended the event to show his support for Mackenzie after spending the election cycle knocking on doors for him. He said having previously worked in New York state politics, he said campaigning in Pennsylvania was a different experience.
Helms said his interest in politics began after interning with the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C. in 2022.
“I want to work on the government side,” Helms said. “I love working with people, getting them the support they need, helping connect the dots.”
While Mackenzie’s campaign ended in defeat, his supporters pointed to his involvement in the Lehigh Valley and the relationships he built with the community as a reason for their continued support.
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