The midterm elections are rapidly approaching and one of the most closely watched Congressional races is right here in our region: Pennsylvania’s 7th District in the Lehigh Valley. NBC10 political reporter Lauren Mayk sat down with the two major party candidates who are running. NBC10 asked both c andidates for the same amount of time for an interview – the Brooks campaign gave us less time than we asked for, limiting our time with the candidate. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie on fighting to keep his seat :00 – Intro :28 – Mackenzie’s pitch to voters 1:37 – Effects of the economy 3:05 – Mackenzie’s accomplishments while in office. 5:08 – Housing costs 6:21 – When homeowners will see lower prices 7:06 – Changes to Medicaid and SNAP benefits 8:47 – Finding money for SNAP benefits in Pennsylvania’s budget 9:53 – Who could lose access to Medicaid 11:23 – Meeting new requirements for Medicaid 11:43 – Resolving confusion around Medicaid, SNAP changes 13:02 – Ending the war in Iran 14:01 – If the war in Iran has been successful 15:27 – How long it will take to end war in Iran 16:03 – If the war in Iran has lasted as long as McKenzie expected 16:30 – Legislation for data center requirements  18:36 – Moratorium on data centers 19:30 – Sales tax exemptions for data center developers 20:38 – Voting for tax break legislation 21:02 – Oversight of ICE in Congress 22:28 – Shapiro Administration responds to SNAP error rate Bob Brooks on trying to win the seat in Congress :00 – Intro :31 – Brooks’s pitch to voters 1:19 – Did Brooks vote for President Donald Trump? 1:50 – Connecting with Trump voters 2:47 – Changes to no tax on tips policy 4:02 – Voting to repeal Big Beautiful Bill 4:29 – If President Trump should be impeached 5:29 – If an impeachment is possible 6:28 – Social media post controversy and gun violence 8:10 – Gun laws and policy changes 8:55 – If Brooks’ thoughts on gun laws have changed 9:42 – Debt payment to mother-in-law 10:23 – Being trusted with tax-payer money 10:40 – Thoughts on Medicare-for-all policy 11:48 – If Brooks would sign off on additional taxes to pay for a Medicare-for-all policy 12:55 – Setting standards on data centers 13:49 – Bucks County race candidates Subscribe to Battleground Politics anywhere you get your podcasts: Spotify | Amazon Music | Apple Podcasts | RSS | Watch on YouTube Lehigh Valley Oct 12 Spanish-language radio show overflows with frustrated voters in Pa. battleground Battleground Politics Oct 2 Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker on first 1,000 days, politics and policies ...read more read less