4 questions about prices and policy in Pennsylvania’s 7th District race

Alberto Pena, who runs a Dominican restaurant with his wife, voted for Donald Trump expecting the economy to improve after high inflation under Biden. Pena now leans toward Brooks and says the couple is living day by day. “This is not what we expected,” Pena told PBS News in the AP report.

The accounts describe different experiences, not a shared political response. Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk says residents still bring up childcare, mortgage and grocery bills, and that he hears little improvement compared with the previous election cycle.

Fuel prices offer one measure of the pressure. On Sept. 29, 2026, the Pennsylvania average was $4.53 a gallon and the national average was $4.46. In the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area, the average on Sept. 29, 2025, was $3.18, Spotlight PA reported.

How do Mackenzie and Brooks differ on food costs and taxes?

Mackenzie co-sponsored legislation offering tax credits to grocery stores in food deserts. Brooks proposes restoring food-assistance benefits through SNAP that the 2025 tax law reduced, along with stronger enforcement against price gouging. One approach directs support toward grocery stores; the other focuses on food benefits and enforcement.

Mackenzie voted for the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which became law on July 4, 2025. The law made several individual and business tax cuts permanent and created deductions for tips, overtime pay and taxpayers 65 and older through 2028, according to Spotlight PA.

The law also reduced federal SNAP spending. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the reduction at nearly $187 billion over a decade, Spotlight PA reported. Brooks supports restoring the benefits cut by the law.

Their approaches to tariffs diverge, too. Mackenzie has supported higher tariffs while criticizing uncertainty in how they are being implemented; Brooks opposes them. Those positions add another point of contrast to the candidates’ economic plans.

What do the candidates propose on housing and wages?

The median home sale price in Lehigh and Northampton counties was $379,000 in August 2026, nearly 10% higher than a year earlier. The figure was below the highs recorded in June and July, Spotlight PA reported.

Both candidates say housing costs are too high, but their proposals differ. Mackenzie has backed housing-related tax measures. Brooks supports building more starter homes and limiting corporate landlords.

The wage debate is another contrast. Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since the federal minimum increased in 2009. Brooks supports tying a future increase to inflation, though he has not named a target wage. He also backs union protections, apprenticeships and trade programs.

Mackenzie opposed a minimum-wage increase while serving in the Pennsylvania House. Spotlight PA reports that he has praised federal workforce-training investments and supported reducing regulatory burdens for small businesses. The candidates thus offer different approaches to wages and worker protections as well as to housing costs.

What does Latino outreach mean for the district race?

Latinos make up about one-quarter of the 7th District. In the Lehigh Valley, their share of the population grew from one-fifth to nearly one-quarter over a period of nearly a decade, the Associated Press reported. The AP also reported that Latino voters were part of Trump’s winning coalition two years earlier. That history helps explain why both campaigns are seeking Latino support, but it does not determine how any individual will vote.

Brooks has used the Spanish-language name Bombero Bob in outreach. Mackenzie’s campaign has promoted Latino support, and Mackenzie opened an Allentown district office with Spanish-speaking staff.

Jackie Rivera, vice chair of Lehigh County Republicans, says Republicans want to retain Latino support and should speak candidly about economic conditions while connecting with voters on issues such as faith and family. Rivera told PBS News in the AP report, “We’re not pretending everything is great right now.”

A WFMZ debate between the candidates is scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 21. The district’s election is Nov. 3.