BETHLEHEM, Pa. — U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie will appear in a CNN televised town hall event in Washington D.C. on Thursday night.
Mackenzie, the Lehigh Valley's freshman Republican lawmaker, is among four U.S. House members from battleground districts appearing in the town hall event.
He will join reps. Mike Lawler, R-New York; Jahana Hayes, R-Connecticut; and Derek Tran, D-California, to answer questions from a bipartisan crowd and CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins.
According to CNN, the town hall will air at 9 p.m. Thursday.
"I’m hopeful that we can cut through the noise and talk about delivering real, bipartisan solutions for the people."U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie
It will stream live for Pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV, and mobile apps.
The Town Hall also will be available On Demand beginning April 11 to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN apps and Cable Operator Platforms.
A battleground district
The event comes at a moment of upheaval in American politics.
Republicans are facing backlash after exploring cuts to Medicaid and President Donald Trump triggered a global stock market plunge by enacting across-the-board tariffs last week.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's polling is under water as grassroots organization question how effective their elected leaders are at opposing Republican plans.
"I’m hopeful that we can cut through the noise and talk about delivering real, bipartisan solutions for the people,” Mackenzie said in a prepared statement.
Thursday's event will be the first time Mackenzie appears at an in-person town hall since defeating Democratic incumbent Susan Wild in last year's race for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District.
Mackenzie last month held a telephone town hall in which callers questioned him about proposed cuts to Medicaid, the war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's efforts to slash the size of the federal government.
This isn't the first time national outlets have recognized PA-7 as a battleground district.
Party registration in the district is split nearly even between Republicans and Democrats, and both parties make it a priority to win, given the tight margins in the U.S. House.
The past three elections all were decided by less than 3% of the vote.
Mackenzie, a 12-year veteran of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, ousted Wild by about 1% of the vote.
Last year's congressional race saw all candidates and their allies spend more than $38 million on the campaign, making it one of the most expensive U.S. House races in the nation.
