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“Susan Wild is a true champion for the Greater Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania. Her bipartisan, common sense approach to uplifting working class Pennsylvania families and growing the middle class is why voters have trusted her to represent and serve Pennsylvania’s 7th District. Whether it’s lowering the costs of prescription drugs, bringing high-paying manufacturing jobs back to Northeastern Pennsylvania, or passing legislation to strengthen domestic supply chains, Susan works tirelessly to make life better for her constituents. She is also leading critical efforts to protect IVF and women’s reproductive rights, standing firm against the onslaught of attacks from far-right extremists like Ryan Mackenzie. This November, voters will send Susan back to Congress to continue fighting for their families,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Aidan Johnson
Date: April 23, 2024
Subject: The Case Against Ryan Mackenzie
Raised in a working-class household by a Democratic mother and a conservative Republican father, Susan Wild understands that regardless of political party, every Pennsylvanian wants to leave their children a better world. That’s why Susan has partnered with Republicans to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, fix the USPS, propose commonsense immigration reforms, remove barriers to receiving health care, strengthen our manufacturing sector, and protect our domestic supply chains. And it’s why she has made a point to regularly meet constituents in every corner of the district, because she knows government works best when it’s driven by what people really care about.
Susan Wild is a champion for families across Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Greater Lehigh Valley. She wrote the bipartisan legislation that would protect IVF and ensure women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, their own journey through parenthood, and when they want to start their families. While MAGA extremists are waging a war on reproductive health care, Susan is a proud supporter of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would enshrine reproductive freedoms into federal law. The same cannot be said for her anti-abortion opponent.
Ryan Mackenzie has been endorsed by anti-abortion extremists, brags about having a “100%” anti-abortion record, voted for an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest, and has repeatedly tried to restrict women’s rights in Pennsylvania. Mackenzie’s extremism extends well beyond abortion. Following the 2020 election, Mackenzie enabled the Big Lie and tried to overturn the will of the voters by signing onto a brief in support of a lawsuit to block certification of Pennsylvania’s election results. Mackenzie is also bought and paid for by anti-worker special interests. In the state legislature he has done their bidding — voting to protect corporations at the expense of workers rights.
Mackenzie Is A Threat To Jobs And Workers’ Rights
A quick look at Ryan Mackenzie’s voting record shows he spells trouble for Pennsylvania’s workers. Mackenzie has consistently shot down efforts to create jobs, such as opposing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which boosted local economies by billions. Additionally, he voted against legislation to raise funds to repair Pennsylvania’s infrastructure, an initiative that was projected to create 50,000 jobs at the time.
But it’s not just about jobs — Mackenzie’s also turned his back on workers’ rights. His refusal to support bills that would expand retirement savings account access, ensure workers’ compensation and disability benefits for those with serious injuries, and prevent employee misclassification, demonstrates a fundamental lack of concern for the financial security and well-being of Pennsylvania workers.
Moreover, Mackenzie’s rejection of legislation to increase the minimum wage, his opposition to a constitutional amendment that would enshrine employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain, and denial of unemployment benefits to striking workers, further underscores his disdain for the working class. By blindly siding with corporate interests over the needs of everyday Pennsylvanians, Mackenzie has proven himself to be out of touch with the struggles and aspirations of those he is supposed to represent.
Susan, meanwhile, has been a champion for workers’ rights. She is one of the original cosponsors of the Raise the Wage Act, legislation designed to gradually raise the minimum wage, offering crucial financial relief to workers and families across Pennsylvania. Additionally, Susan is an original backer of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which empowers workers to establish unions and negotiate for fair wages, retirement security, and workplace safety.
Mackenzie Is A Threat To Women’s Reproductive Freedom
Ryan Mackenzie is an anti-abortion extremist who can’t be trusted to protect women’s reproductive freedom. According to Mackenzie’s campaign website, he boasts that he has a “100% pro-life voting record” from an organization that is committed to outlawing abortion “from conception.” In the state legislature, Mackenzie voted for an abortion ban that had no exceptions for rape or incest. He also voted for a bill that would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to exclude any rights relating to abortion. The constitutional amendment had no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the woman, and the ACLU said it would “threaten the fundamental rights of every Pennsylvanian.”
In the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court election — which served as a litmus test for the ongoing assault on women’s reproductive rights by MAGA extremists — the pro-choice Democratic candidate secured victory with 55.4% of the vote in Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon Counties. This marks a significant +5.6-point swing from the previous election’s results.
Unlike Mackenzie, Susan has been a staunch defender of a woman’s right to control her own body. In Congress, Susan has championed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would enshrine women’s reproductive freedom into federal law. Susan has also led a bipartisan effort to protect IVF and other fertility treatments. In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that opened the door to a national IVF ban, Susan has led the fight in Washington to ensure MAGA extremists like Ryan Mackenzie don’t get to decide how anyone starts or grows their own family.
Mackenzie Is A Threat To Pennsylvania Families, Children, and Seniors
Ryan Mackenzie has consistently put the interests of his campaign’s backers ahead of the interests of Pennsylvania’s working families. After accepting nearly $16,000 in campaign contributions from the insurance industry, Mackenzie introduced a bill that many argued would give medical decisions to insurers and not doctors. According to the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, the measure had “nothing to do with healing injured workers” and “everything to do with giving insurance companies control of the medical process.” They went on to say that “while Rep. Ryan Mackenzie claims this bill will help combat Pennsylvania’s opioid epidemic, nothing could be further from the truth.”
On top of being in the pocket of the insurance industry, Mackenzie is beholden to the NRA and the gun lobby. In 2023, he voted against background checks to purchase firearms. He also voted to allow the National Rifle Association and other entities to sue local governments for enacting and enforcing their own gun safety legislation. And Mackenzie voted to allow individuals to carry firearms without a permit in Pennsylvania, despite opposition from local law enforcement organizations.
With out of touch House GOP extremists threatening a disastrous budget that cuts Social Security, privatizes Medicare, and raises the retirement age, Pennsylvanians can’t afford a representative like Ryan Mackenzie. Mackenzie has said that he is “a fan of zero-based budgeting,” which, if implemented at the federal level, would have devastating consequences for seniors. Zero-based budgeting is “a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period,” putting Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block every single year.
Mackenzie Is A Threat To Democracy
In 2020, Donald Trump tried to overturn the election and the will of the voters in Pennsylvania, and Ryan Mackenzie was in lockstep with him. Mackenzie enabled the “Big Lie” and the tragic events of January 6th that resulted in the deaths of police officers by supporting lawsuits and efforts to overturn the results of Pennsylvania’s elections. Mackenzie even went so far as to sign onto a “Hail Mary” amicus brief in Texas v. Pennsylvania that attempted to block certification of Pennsylvania’s election.
Mackenzie then signed onto a letter that asked Congress to reject Pennsylvania’s electoral college votes on January 6th. When he ran for office in 2022, Mackenzie bragged that he’d “asked Congress not to certify the 2020 election until election issues can be heard by the US Supreme Court.” Now, he’s changed his tune and is trying to downplay his effort to undermine our democracy as merely throwing “a challenge flag.”
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
WFMZ: Susan Wild discusses IVF protections for military families with veteran advocates [WFMZ, 4/3/24]
Lehigh Valley News: Bill by U.S. Rep. Susan Wild at the center of nationwide IVF debate [Lehigh Valley News, 2/28/24]
Lehigh Valley News: The fix is in: Rep. Wild celebrates two-year anniversary of infrastructure law funding that benefits Greater Lehigh Valley [Lehigh Valley News, 11/15/23]
WDIY: Officials Celebrate Unveiling of LVIA’s $35 Million Security Checkpoint, Terminal Connector [WDIY, 8/2/23]
Lehigh Valley News: Nearly $10M incoming for ‘one of the busiest corridors in the Lehigh Valley’ [Lehigh Valley News, 12/11/23]
The Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Wild raises $1.37 million in latest quarter, more than all GOP challengers combined [The Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 4/11/24]
PATH TO VICTORY
Many pundits wrote off Susan Wild last cycle, but once again she proved hard work and bipartisanship are deeply respected in the Lehigh Valley. In 2022, Congresswoman Wild beat her extreme anti-abortion opponent with 51% of the vote in an election where reproductive freedoms were top of mind for voters. As evidenced by last year’s PA Supreme Court race, choice remains a strong motivator and continues to drive voters to the polls. The Democratic candidate won with 55.4% of the vote in Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon County — a +5.6-point swing from 2021. Senator Casey will also be running for re-election and has consistently demonstrated the high ceiling in this district, winning by 10.1 points in 2018.
Moreover, Susan Wild has won her hard-fought race by building a broad, diverse coalition that includes Latino voters. Her consistent outreach and emphasis on the shared priorities of all working families in her district sets her apart. During the 2022 campaign, Susan improved her margin with Latino voters going from 62% of the vote in 2020 to 68% of the vote. She overperformed other Democrats — both state wide and across the country — and this coalition positions her to win again in 2024.
Dark money donors and corporate billionaires have poured tens of millions of dollars propping up extreme, out of touch politicians to unseat Susan Wild, but her willingness to listen and indisputable record of delivering real results for working families remain undefeated.
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