2026 Pennsylvania (PA-07) US House Voters Guide

Bob Brooks (D) vs Ryan Mackenzie (R)

House of Representatives | Election | Nov 3, 2026

The Candidates

Bob Brooks

Bob Brooks

Democrat

Ryan Mackenzie

Ryan Mackenzie

Republican

Incumbent

The Issues

Abortion

Ban or legal?

Bob Brooks (D)

Legal. “The government has no business telling people what to do with their own bodies.” Would “codify Roe v. Wade in the constitution.” “If you need care, everyone deserves the same access, the same protections, and the same rights.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Ban. Voted for a Pennsylvania constitutional amendment stating abortion is not a right. Voted in 2017 for a 20-week ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. Voted in 2019 to bar the use of telemedicine to prescribe mifepristone. Supports alternatives to abortion, such as easing “pathways to adoption.”

Share Their Positions

Climate Change

Should climate change be a top priority?

Bob Brooks (D)

Mostly yes. Calls for “taking on the climate crisis.” Would “work to approve new nuclear and natural gas power plants while we build up renewables.” Supports “building wind, solar, and power projects.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

No. Voted to end Biden-era clean energy tax credits. Opposes “cap-and-tax schemes that prioritize a radical climate agenda.” Calls for “unleashing our domestic energy supply.

Share Their Positions

Criminal Justice

How to ensure effectiveness and fairness in law enforcement?

Bob Brooks (D)

Says public safety “is about making sure…police have the resources to do the job,” including “training and equipment.” Wants communities to trust “the people sworn to protect them.” Would invest “in mental health and addiction services.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Sponsored the Back the Blue Act, increasing criminal penalties for assaulting or killing law enforcement officers and expanding active and retired officers’ ability to carry firearms in public. Wants increased funding for police.

Share Their Positions

Economy

Cut or increase government investment in, and regulation of, the economy?

Bob Brooks (D)

Increase. Would invest in transportation, including passenger rail. Would “build more starter homes” and “crack down on corporate landlords and rent gouging.” Opposes “price-gouging utility monopolies.” Supports a bill to stop “Wall Street from buying up housing stock meant for working families.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Mostly cut.Reduce wasteful government spending that is driving inflation.” Voted to cut existing USAID foreign aid and funding for NPR and PBS. “Stop the overregulation that is crushing America’s entrepreneurial spirit.” Sponsored a bill giving mortgage assistance to school teachers and “first responders.” Would direct resources for “local infrastructure” to “organizations…that share our American values.”

Share Their Positions

Education

Use public funding for private and/or for-profit schools?

Bob Brooks (D)

No. “I will not support using federal money to hand vouchers to private schools while public schools are being starved.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Yes. Sponsored a bill to use PA public funds to provide scholarships to K-12 students in low-achieving districts to attend private schools. Voted to increase funding for a state program that gives tax credits to businesses that donate to private school scholarships for K-12 students.

Share Their Positions

Environment

Loosen or tighten environmental regulations?

Bob Brooks (D)

Tighten. Would “hold the EPA accountable and push for stricter federal oversight for pollution like sewage sludge and mine refuse.” Supports banning PFAS, “forever chemicals,” from firefighters’ turnout gear. Opposes rolling “back commonsense regulation” that would make “it easier for the companies doing the polluting.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Loosen. Voted to end a 20-year protection against mining for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Voted to expedite and expand mining on public lands. Voted to increase forest thinning in fire-prone areas by easing environmental laws. Would end wetland rules “that infringe upon the rights of farmers and ranchers.”

Share Their Positions

Gun Laws

Loosen or tighten gun laws?

Bob Brooks (D)

Tighten. “I respect the Second Amendment.” Calls for “common-sense laws: universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and enforcing waiting periods” so that “dangerous people don’t get their hands on guns.” Guns “now the leading cause of death for American kids.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Loosen. “Defend the 2nd Amendment in its original intent to protect Americans against a tyrannical government.” Voted against a PA bill requiring background checks for long guns. Opposed a red flag bill. Voted against restricting parts for untraceable homemade “ghost guns.”

Share Their Positions

Health Care

Increase or decrease government support for health care?

Bob Brooks (D)

Increase. Would “fight to undo the damage caused by” the One Big Beautiful Bill, restore Medicaid and SNAP, and extend Affordable Care Act tax credits. Would cap “out of pocket medical costs and [lower] the cost of prescription drugs.” Supports Medicare for All. “There’s no reason we can’t supply medical coverage for everybody.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Mixed. Supported short-term extensions of the Affordable Care Act subsidies in 2025 and 2026. Opposes “cuts to…Medicare.” Voted for cuts to Medicaid; said new Medicaid work requirements are “commonsense guardrails.” Sponsored a constitutional amendment for “medical freedom” from “government mandates.”

Share Their Positions

Immigration

How to handle immigration?

Bob Brooks (D)

Calls for a “system that deters illegal entry and secures our border, while treating people humanely.” Calls ICE crackdowns “un-American.” Wants more immigration judges and better technology to speed up visa processing. Would “streamline the pathway to citizenship” and “protect citizenship for [DACA] Dreamers and those with Temporary Protected Status.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Voted to increase ICE funding by $75 billion. Would “finish building the wall,” “crack down on birth tourism,” and “re-instate remain in Mexico.” Supports “E-Verify” and “merit-based legal immigration.” Supports ICE reforms, including requiring body cameras and more intensive de-escalation training. Sponsored a PA bill ending sanctuary cities.

Share Their Positions

Iran

Support the war in Iran?

Bob Brooks (D)

No. Calls the war “illegal,” “reckless,” and lacking a “clear objective.” “If [Trump’s] going to be sending my child or other people’s children to Iran to fight a war, you ought to be able to tell the American people why. That has not happened.” Would rein in “in Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally embroil us in foreign conflicts.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Yes. Voted in March, April, May, and June against limiting Trump’s military action in Iran. Said he did not want to “take away the president’s leverage” while negotiations continue. Supported Trump’s decision to launch the war, calling it an “opportunity” to take out a “regime…that has targeted Americans for 47 years.”

Share Their Positions

Labor

Make it easier or harder for unions to organize?

Bob Brooks (D)

Easier. Calls passage of the PRO Act, which would strengthen collective bargaining and protect organizing rights, one of his highest legislative priorities. “Unions are what built the middle class…. Strong unions mean strong communities.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Harder. As a PA representative, voted against a constitutional amendment enshrining state workers’ “fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively.” Voted against a bill granting unemployment benefits to striking workers.

Share Their Positions

LGBTQ Rights

Limit or expand LGBTQ rights?

Bob Brooks (D)

Expand. “It’s not the business of the government to dictate who people love and how they live.” Will “always stand up for LGBTQ people by protecting anti-discrimination laws, defending marriage equality.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Limit. Voted to restrict transgender students from playing on women’s sports teams. As a PA rep, voted against the Fairness Act, which promoted LGBTQ nondiscrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

Share Their Positions

Minimum Wage

Raise the federal minimum from $7.25 per hour?

Bob Brooks (D)

Yes. Would raise the federal minimum wage and “tie it to inflation.” “You tell me anybody that can live on $7.25 an hour. Just can’t happen.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

No. As a PA representative, voted in 2023 against a bill gradually raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2026.

Share Their Positions

Taxes

Raise or lower taxes on corporations and wealthier individuals?

Bob Brooks (D)

Raise. “Tax the ultra-rich and cut taxes for working people.” Seeks a billionaire minimum tax. The 2017 Trump tax cuts “handed massive breaks to billionaires and big corporations.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Lower. Voted for a bill extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which included among other cuts a break for the very wealthy and the largest one-time cut in the corporate tax rate.

Share Their Positions

Voting Rules

Make voting harder or easier?

Bob Brooks (D)

Easier. Opposes the SAVE Act, which requires proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to require certain states to get preapproval for changes in voting practices. “We should be making voting more accessible.”

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

Harder. Supports SAVE Act, which requires proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Voted for it in 2025 and in 2026. Supports voter ID, calls it a “a commonsense position.” Would ban “unsecured drop boxes” and people delivering the ballots of others.

Share Their Positions

guides.vote is a nonpartisan effort to show where candidates stand. We do not support or oppose any political party or candidate. We include candidates polling 15% or more. Check out others including: Frank Golden (U) and Ramon Granados (I). Vote411.org offers guides to local races and how to vote. For campuses, see Campus Vote Project’s state-specific guides to student voting rules.

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Bob Brooks

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Ryan Mackenzie

republican Party

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Bob Brooks

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Ryan Mackenzie

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See guides.vote for online guides with links & sourceshttps://brooksforcongress.com/https://www.mackenzieforcongress.com/
Abortion

Ban or legal?

Legal. “The government has no business telling people what to do with their own bodies.” Would “codify Roe v. Wade in the constitution.” “If you need care, everyone deserves the same access, the same protections, and the same rights.”Ban. Voted for a Pennsylvania constitutional amendment stating abortion is not a right. Voted in 2017 for a 20-week ban with no exceptions for rape or incest. Voted in 2019 to bar the use of telemedicine to prescribe mifepristone. Supports alternatives to abortion, such as easing “pathways to adoption.”
Climate Change

Should climate change be a top priority?

Mostly yes. Calls for “taking on the climate crisis.” Would “work to approve new nuclear and natural gas power plants while we build up renewables.” Supports “building wind, solar, and power projects.”No. Voted to end Biden-era clean energy tax credits. Opposes “cap-and-tax schemes that prioritize a radical climate agenda.” Calls for “unleashing our domestic energy supply.
Criminal Justice

How to ensure effectiveness and fairness in law enforcement?

Says public safety “is about making sure…police have the resources to do the job,” including “training and equipment.” Wants communities to trust “the people sworn to protect them.” Would invest “in mental health and addiction services.”Sponsored the Back the Blue Act, increasing criminal penalties for assaulting or killing law enforcement officers and expanding active and retired officers’ ability to carry firearms in public. Wants increased funding for police.
Economy

Cut or increase government investment in, and regulation of, the economy?

Increase. Would invest in transportation, including passenger rail. Would “build more starter homes” and “crack down on corporate landlords and rent gouging.” Opposes “price-gouging utility monopolies.” Supports a bill to stop “Wall Street from buying up housing stock meant for working families.”Mostly cut.Reduce wasteful government spending that is driving inflation.” Voted to cut existing USAID foreign aid and funding for NPR and PBS. “Stop the overregulation that is crushing America’s entrepreneurial spirit.” Sponsored a bill giving mortgage assistance to school teachers and “first responders.” Would direct resources for “local infrastructure” to “organizations…that share our American values.”
Education

Use public funding for private and/or for-profit schools?

No. “I will not support using federal money to hand vouchers to private schools while public schools are being starved.”Yes. Sponsored a bill to use PA public funds to provide scholarships to K-12 students in low-achieving districts to attend private schools. Voted to increase funding for a state program that gives tax credits to businesses that donate to private school scholarships for K-12 students.
Environment

Loosen or tighten environmental regulations?

Tighten. Would “hold the EPA accountable and push for stricter federal oversight for pollution like sewage sludge and mine refuse.” Supports banning PFAS, “forever chemicals,” from firefighters’ turnout gear. Opposes rolling “back commonsense regulation” that would make “it easier for the companies doing the polluting.”Loosen. Voted to end a 20-year protection against mining for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Voted to expedite and expand mining on public lands. Voted to increase forest thinning in fire-prone areas by easing environmental laws. Would end wetland rules “that infringe upon the rights of farmers and ranchers.”
Gun Laws

Loosen or tighten gun laws?

Tighten. “I respect the Second Amendment.” Calls for “common-sense laws: universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, and enforcing waiting periods” so that “dangerous people don’t get their hands on guns.” Guns “now the leading cause of death for American kids.”Loosen. “Defend the 2nd Amendment in its original intent to protect Americans against a tyrannical government.” Voted against a PA bill requiring background checks for long guns. Opposed a red flag bill. Voted against restricting parts for untraceable homemade “ghost guns.”
Health Care

Increase or decrease government support for health care?

Increase. Would “fight to undo the damage caused by” the One Big Beautiful Bill, restore Medicaid and SNAP, and extend Affordable Care Act tax credits. Would cap “out of pocket medical costs and [lower] the cost of prescription drugs.” Supports Medicare for All. “There’s no reason we can’t supply medical coverage for everybody.”Mixed. Supported short-term extensions of the Affordable Care Act subsidies in 2025 and 2026. Opposes “cuts to…Medicare.” Voted for cuts to Medicaid; said new Medicaid work requirements are “commonsense guardrails.” Sponsored a constitutional amendment for “medical freedom” from “government mandates.”
Immigration

How to handle immigration?

Calls for a “system that deters illegal entry and secures our border, while treating people humanely.” Calls ICE crackdowns “un-American.” Wants more immigration judges and better technology to speed up visa processing. Would “streamline the pathway to citizenship” and “protect citizenship for [DACA] Dreamers and those with Temporary Protected Status.”Voted to increase ICE funding by $75 billion. Would “finish building the wall,” “crack down on birth tourism,” and “re-instate remain in Mexico.” Supports “E-Verify” and “merit-based legal immigration.” Supports ICE reforms, including requiring body cameras and more intensive de-escalation training. Sponsored a PA bill ending sanctuary cities.
Iran

Support the war in Iran?

No. Calls the war “illegal,” “reckless,” and lacking a “clear objective.” “If [Trump’s] going to be sending my child or other people’s children to Iran to fight a war, you ought to be able to tell the American people why. That has not happened.” Would rein in “in Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally embroil us in foreign conflicts.”Yes. Voted in March, April, May, and June against limiting Trump’s military action in Iran. Said he did not want to “take away the president’s leverage” while negotiations continue. Supported Trump’s decision to launch the war, calling it an “opportunity” to take out a “regime…that has targeted Americans for 47 years.”
Labor

Make it easier or harder for unions to organize?

Easier. Calls passage of the PRO Act, which would strengthen collective bargaining and protect organizing rights, one of his highest legislative priorities. “Unions are what built the middle class…. Strong unions mean strong communities.”Harder. As a PA representative, voted against a constitutional amendment enshrining state workers’ “fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively.” Voted against a bill granting unemployment benefits to striking workers.
LGBTQ Rights

Limit or expand LGBTQ rights?

Expand. “It’s not the business of the government to dictate who people love and how they live.” Will “always stand up for LGBTQ people by protecting anti-discrimination laws, defending marriage equality.”Limit. Voted to restrict transgender students from playing on women’s sports teams. As a PA rep, voted against the Fairness Act, which promoted LGBTQ nondiscrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
Minimum Wage

Raise the federal minimum from $7.25 per hour?

Yes. Would raise the federal minimum wage and “tie it to inflation.” “You tell me anybody that can live on $7.25 an hour. Just can’t happen.”No. As a PA representative, voted in 2023 against a bill gradually raising the minimum wage in Pennsylvania from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2026.
Taxes

Raise or lower taxes on corporations and wealthier individuals?

Raise. “Tax the ultra-rich and cut taxes for working people.” Seeks a billionaire minimum tax. The 2017 Trump tax cuts “handed massive breaks to billionaires and big corporations.”Lower. Voted for a bill extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which included among other cuts a break for the very wealthy and the largest one-time cut in the corporate tax rate.
Voting Rules

Make voting harder or easier?

Easier. Opposes the SAVE Act, which requires proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to require certain states to get preapproval for changes in voting practices. “We should be making voting more accessible.”Harder. Supports SAVE Act, which requires proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. Voted for it in 2025 and in 2026. Supports voter ID, calls it a “a commonsense position.” Would ban “unsecured drop boxes” and people delivering the ballots of others.

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