BETHLEHEM, Pennsylvania — Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) barnstorm through Pennsylvania included a Tuesday stop in what he’s calling a “top three” race for the 2026 election cycle.
Johnson spent the day hopping to four districts in the state, including what he said was his seventh trip this cycle in support of Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), a first-term congressman whose 2024 victory was one of the narrowest in the entire country.
Speaking at a Fraternal Order of Police lodge in the Lehigh Valley, Johnson tied the stakes of the election to the endorsement Mackenzie had just earned from several local law enforcement organizations.
“The entire country is watching what happens in about four districts in Pennsylvania, and this is a top three race in America right now,” Johnson said. “So, you’re not just supporting local law enforcement and the 7th District of Pennsylvania — you’re supporting the American way.”
The event is part of a dizzying schedule for Johnson, who is attempting to defy electoral history and preserve Republicans’ wafer-thin control of the House. Johnson will travel to 40 more districts between now and Election Day and has competitive races in four other states — Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Iowa — on his itinerary for this week alone.
In Pennsylvania, Johnson campaigned on behalf of Mackenzie, but also Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) on Tuesday. All of their races are rated as competitive or true toss-ups by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report and could on their own decide which party controls the majority next year.
Mackenzie eked out a 1-percentage-point win in his 2024 race, but as of now trails Democratic challenger Bob Brooks by 5 points in the latest public polling. In 2024, President Donald Trump carried the seat by 3 percentage points over former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This is going to be a close election — we all know that,” Johnson told the Washington Examiner at the campaign event, before predicting that Republicans would win on a message that draws a contrast between “common sense and crazy.”
“We’re not having that. Marxists are not going to prevail,” Johnson said, flanked alongside House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL). “God’s not done with America yet. We’re going to win this election.”
Working against Republicans this election cycle are the political headwinds that ordinarily come with being the party in power, as well as a war in Iran that has weighed down Trump’s approval ratings.
There is concern that Republicans do not have a strong top of the ticket in Pennsylvania, with polls showing Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) ahead of GOP challenger Stacy Garrity by as much as 27 points.
As a result, Mackenzie is banking on voters to split their ticket and said there is precedent for them doing so in past elections.
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“Those coattails don’t necessarily extend, and that’s because we have a very informed, very educated electorate,” he said. “They are swing voters. They like to go race by race, candidate by candidate.”
“I’m confident we’re going to see that again,” he added.