U.S. Rep. Susan Wild calls for campaign finance reform in her farewell address

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Outgoing U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, during her farewell remarks on the House floor Wednesday, called for campaign finance reform, citing the record spending this year in her Lehigh Valley district race.

Candidates and their political allies burned through $38.2 million in their bids to win Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District during the 2024 election cycle, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

It was the most ever spent in the region's congressional race as the cost of campaigns has ballooned across the nation in recent years.

During her five-minute address, Wild called campaign finance reform one of the biggest unresolved issues Congress must address.

"That was obscene, and it wasn't even the most expensive one in the country," Wild said of the cost. "Imagine all the good that could be done with that."

She also urged her colleagues to pass legislation creating universal pre-school and to protect Medicare's ability to negotiate lower prescription drugs.

Wild, a three-term Democrat, did not emphasize campaign finance reform during her tenure, but repeatedly co-sponsored bills and resolutions that intended to weaken the influence of private wealth on elections.

None of them was signed into law; the closest was the proposed For the People Act, which passed the House along partisan lines in 2021.

'Greatest privilege and honor'

The far-reaching election reform bill also would have made Election Day a federal holiday, mandated early voting opportunities and tried to address gerrymandering.

Wild was the primary benefactor of campaign spending this cycle. Her own campaign spent $8.7 million toward her re-election, and political action committees dropped $14.7 million boosting her candidacy and criticizing her opponents, according to the non-profit Open Secrets.

All that money wasn't enough to get her a fourth term, however. Republican challenger Ryan Mackenzie, a longtime state lawmaker from Lower Macungie Township, defeated her by about 4,000 votes in one of the most contested battleground districts in the nation.

Mackenzie and the new Congress will take the oath of office Jan. 3.

During her farewell remarks, Wild highlighted the funding she brought back to the region, including $395 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the bipartisan deal passed early in the Biden administration.

She also thanked her staff, family and constituents.

"To the voters of Pennsylvania 7, thank you for the greatest privilege and honor of my life in representing you," she said.