GOP challenger unseats Rep. Susan Wild in Pennsylvania

Republican Pennsylvania House candidate Ryan Mackenzie is expected to defeat incumbent Democratic Rep. Susan Wild in the state’s 7th Congressional District race. Wild announced that she conceded the race in a post on X early on Wednesday.

Wild has represented Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, which encompasses counties such as Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton, since 2018, and was expected to face a tough election battle by her own party. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee identified the district as vulnerable to Republican defeat when heading into the election cycle earlier this year.

The Democratic House member ran on a platform of protecting access to abortion, fighting LGBT discrimination, affordable housing, and investing in infrastructure. Wild, who was backed by President Biden this cycle, overwhelmingly votes along party lines, with FiveThirtyEight data showing she has voted for legislation supported by Biden 100% of the time. 

Mackenzie, on the other hand, campaigned on securing the U.S. border, energy independence, cutting taxes, and trimming government spending. Former President Donald Trump endorsed Mackenzie earlier this year, after the 45th president withheld an endorsement for the district’s 2022 race, when Wild faced Republican challenger Lisa Scheller. 

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM FLIP-FLOPS ON IMMIGRATION AFTER DISMISSING BORDER WALL AS ‘SILLY’

Left: Representative Susan Wild, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, in a file photo from Jan. 2022. Right: Ryan Mackenzie in an undated photo. (Getty Images/ Rep. Ryan Mackenzie office)

“Ryan Mackenzie has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social in August. 

Mackenzie currently serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, a seat he’s held since 2012 including amid redistricting. 

Pennsylvania state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie. (State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie)

Wild has faced tough re-election bids since the 2022 cycle, when redistricting over the 2020 Census took effect and included votes from Republican-friendly Carbon County. 

Ahead of her 2022 race, Wild came under the national spotlight when she said she “might have to school” rural Trump voters in order to win their support. 

In a Zoom call earlier this year, Wild recalled how she felt when she learned that her constituency would include a county that “drank the Trump Kool-Aid” after the electoral boundaries for her congressional district were redrawn. 

“After Trump came along, it went from a sort of working-class blue district to a – they drank the Trump Kool-Aid – and it really became a red county. So, I was dismayed when I got that as part of my district,” she said. 

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM CAUGHT ON ZOOM CALL LAMENTING ‘TRUMP KOOL-AID’ VOTERS IN HER DISTRICT

Rep. Susan Wild speaks at a press conference on Sept. 21, 2022. (Brian Stukes/Getty Images for Protect Our Care)

Wild later apologized “to anyone I may have offended” over the comment. 

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEMOCRAT SAYS SHE ‘MIGHT HAVE TO SCHOOL’ RURAL TRUMP VOTERS TO WIN THEIR SUPPORT

Pennsylvania emerged as a key battleground state for the presidential race this cycle. Trump narrowly won the state in his successful 2016 election against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while President Biden declared victory in the Keystone State in the 2020 election. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital’s Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.