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Freshman Democrat U.S. Rep. Susan Wild defended her Lehigh Valley seat against Republican nominee Lisa Scheller, a former Lehigh County commissioner who started a pigment manufacturer for paints, coatings and inks and touted her background as someone recovered from addiction who advocates for people in recovery.

Wild, a prominent lawyer in Allentown, scored a 10-percentage-point thumping of her Republican opponent in 2018s campaign for what was an open seat in Pennsylvanias 7th Congressional District.

Wild declared victory Thursday evening before The Associated Press called the race around midday Friday.

Pennsylvanias 7th includes all of Lehigh and Northampton counties and part of Monroe County. The district is daunting for a Republican. Democrats have a 60,000-voter registration advantage. Schellers fundraising picked up and closed a big campaign cash advantage that Wild had held going into July.

Scheller had led by as much as 27,000 votes late on election night, when day-of votes were counted but many mail-in ballots were yet to be included in these preliminary results. Her lead dwindled to fewer than 5,000 votes by noon on Thursday, and was erased completely that evening, after which Wild quickly claimed victory.

In a live event streamed on social media, the congresswoman thanked those who took the time to vote despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and who put the 2020 election on pace to see the highest voter turnout in the nations history.

Wild anticipated her lead would only grow as more votes were counted, and pledged to represent everyone within the district.

Whether you voted for me or you didnt, I will keep working as hard as I possibly can for you and your family, and I will keep my focus squarely on getting our entire community through this public health and economic crisis, Wild said before laying out a vision for her second term.

Republican Lisa Scheller, candidate for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, takes the stage to speak in September at a Women for Trump event with Kimberly Guilfoyle in the Lehigh Valley.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

Schellers campaign issued a statement Friday calling on voters to reject socialism and west coast values":

"Pennsylvanias Seventh Congressional District does not belong to a party, it belongs to the hard-working people who call this beautiful district home. While we wait for all of the remaining ballots to be counted, one thing is clear: every legal vote matters, and every legal vote must be verified.

"I have learned one main thing during this journey, Pennsylvanians reject socialism and they reject west coast values being brought to our great district. Susan Wild must be held accountable for how she votes in Congress. I look forward to being a large part of that conversation.

This fight to defend the American Dream, our fight, my fight is not over, it has only just begun.

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Original post:
Wild wins reelection: Lehigh Valley congressional race called for Democrat over GOPs Scheller - lehighvalleylive.com