
The Bethlehem Project has moved to the FT News Briefing
From Swamp Notes by Financial Times
May 17, 2026 · 1 min
About this episode
The episode features an interview with candidates in a critical Pennsylvania swing district as Democrats seek to rebrand after recent electoral losses.
Democrats are looking for a bit of a rebrand after losing the White House and both houses of Congress in 2024. They have an opportunity this November to test out some new types of candidates. In a critical swing district in Pennsylvania, the party establishment has coalesced around a progressive, blue-collar candidate named Bob Brooks. The other frontrunner in the race, Ryan Crosswell, represents a very different vision for winning over swing voters. He’s a former Republican and former federal prosecutor who’s more centrist. Host Sonja Hutson travels to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to interview the candidates and ask party activists where they fall in the electability debate. Check it out on the FT News Briefing feed. Listen to past episodes of The Bethlehem Project here . Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Sonja Hutson
Guests: Bob Brooks, Ryan Crosswell
Topics covered
- politics
- elections
- candidates
- swing districts
- Democratic Party
- interviews
Keywords
- Bethlehem Project
- Democrats
- swing voters
- Bob Brooks
- Ryan Crosswell
- Pennsylvania
- elections
- politics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Democrats, FT News Briefing, FT.com
Places: Pennsylvania
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