Bob Brooks releases first TV ad of the general campaign
Brooks, a Democrat, has garnered support across the party's ideological spectrum, including Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Clad in fire safety gear, Democrat and retired firefighter Bob Brooks promised to “smoke out the billionaires and their lobbyists” in his first ad of the general election, released Tuesday.
Brooks, a union leader who spent 20 years as a Bethlehem firefighter, blasted the “dumpster fire” in Washington that has led “working people get burned.”
Brooks, a retired firefighter and union leader, is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the Lehigh Valley-based 7th Congressional District, one of the most competitive House seats in the nation. The race’s victor will help determine control of the narrowly-divided Congress.
With a focus on economically populist ideas, such as raising the federal minimum wage, while avoiding culture war issues, Brooks has managed to attract support from across the party’s ideological spectrum including Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In July, Brooks also welcomed U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to the district to support his campaign. Meanwhile, Brooks has campaigned on progressive ideas, promising to ban corporations from giving to political action committees that help finance candidates, as well as supporting Congressional term limits and bans on lawmakers trading stocks while in office.
Mackenzie, the vulnerable freshman who won his seat by just one percentage point in 2024, has also received support from his party including U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson in August and President Donald Trump in June. But during Trump’s visit to the district, he took nearly an hour during a rambling speech to even mention Mackenzie by name.
Brooks’ ad borrowed a phrase from his GOP opponent, whose campaign in July referred to Brooks’ “dumpster fire candidacy.”
“At every step of his career, Bob Brooks has put himself first, his politician buddies next, and his own workers last,” Mackenzie’s campaign manager Andres Weller said in a statement.
Brooks’ campaign said it is planning to spend at least $1 million in September on the ad, running on broadcast television in the Philadelphia media market and on streaming platforms.
That’s a significant expenditure for Brooks’ campaign, which raised a total of $2.3 million, according to financial disclosure reports from July.
He’s behind Mackenzie, who has $4.5 million, in overall fundraising. But Brooks added roughly $1.2 million to his stockpile between April 30 and June 30 — after his first-place finish in the competitive Democratic primary, while Mackenzie only took in about $631,000.
The next campaign finance deadline is in October.
