Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican representing the 187th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, will look to defeat incumbent U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in Pennsylvania’s 7th District on Election Day. He defended his record in Pennsylvania and argued that others did not fully grasp his stances on political issues.
In a 40-minute interview with The Lafayette, he highlighted a wide range of important campaign topics such as immigration, abortion and election integrity, often concluding his points by saying different political ideologies found Mackenzie’s arguments “reasonable,” contrary to claims by his opponent Susan Wild.
“I think on the issues that matter most to voters right now, inflation and illegal immigration, I think my track record stacks up much better, to where voters want to head in this country,” he said.
Mackenzie affirmed that he wanted to prioritize lowering housing costs in the Lehigh Valley. He said it was an issue that younger voters especially cared about.
When discussing abortion, Mackenzie made clear he did support a 20-week abortion ban, with exceptions for life of the mother, rape and incest. He clarified his position when asked about different claims of his opinion from political opponents.
“She is doing some pretty strenuous political spin to characterize my position, which is a very reasonable position, which most people would agree with, as something that it’s not,” Mackenzie said of Wild.
He also affirmed that he supports IVF, highlighting how one of his staff members used IVF to have her child.
Mackenzie reiterated that Wild published a misleading ad about IVF — Wild said in an interview with The Lafayette that she thinks the ad was put out by a third party.
The video of the ad states that it was “paid for by Susan Wild for Congress.”
In response to Wild citing her strong bipartisanship, Mackenzie said, “I have never seen her actually break from her party and do something that was in the best interest of her community.” The Lugar Center ranked Wild in the top 12% of most bipartisan members of the House based on bills passed. The center “measures the frequency with which a Member co-sponsors a bill introduced by the opposite party,” according to its website.
Mackenzie, on the topic of bipartisanship, touted his work by passing “a bipartisan coalition to mandate the use of E-verify,” called the Construction Industry Employee Verification Act. He also established the Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee.
He also called for a strong Southern border, describing his perspective after he visited the border earlier in the fall.
“When we all see the consequences of massive illegal immigration now to the tune of almost 10 million people in the Biden administration, you would think that people would come on board and start voting for a border wall and border security funding,” Mackenzie said. The “10 million” claim requires context based on the specifications of the statistic used.
Mackenzie also expressed hope that the 2024 election would be fair and free. When asked about how to ensure voter integrity after he challenged the 2020 presidential election results with fellow Pennsylvania politicians in a letter to Congress, he emphasized that the letter was not for fraud purposes, but because the deadline for mail-in ballots was extended until after Election Day.
“The law is extremely clear that it says mail ballots need to be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day, and there’s no ambiguity there,” he said.
“When fraud does occur, you need to prove it, you need to find it,” Mackenzie said of the letter. “And again, you need to have the proper authorities, actually prosecute the case and go through the legal channels. So that’s all we’re looking for.”
At the end of the interview, Mackenzie also cited living in the Lehigh Valley his whole life; he pledged to continue to support the area.
“I go to everything that I can make it to if I’m invited,” Mackenzie said. “You meet the most fascinating people, or you see things that you would have never seen or learned about otherwise.”
