Former Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning announced at the Hotel Bethlehem Nov. 21 he is running against 7th Congressional District Democrat Susan Wild for U.S. House of Representatives.

The seat he seeks was long held by Republican Charlie Dent, who resigned. Wild bested Republican Marty Nothstein for the office in 2018. Browning said he wants to make her a “one-time Congresswoman.”

He said he is committed to serving not more than four terms (eight years) if elected. Browning’s opponent in the primary election is Lisa Scheller, who also promises to serve only four terms.

In his bid to capture the 7th Congressional District seat, Browning is casting his lot with President Donald Trump. He is betting against a local “blue wave” that has seen both the 7th District and Lehigh County government turn Democratic for the first time in many years.

He said, “We need to do three things next year: re-elect President Trump; take back control of Congress; do that [re-elect the president] with Republicans that fully support the president.”

Browning describes himself as “100 percent pro-life,” a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment; he also says he is an evangelical Christian.

Regarding his pro-life stance, he said he wants abortion to be prohibited “after the first heartbeat” of a fetus.

In a recent Facebook posting, Browning proclaimed he is, “Pro-America First, Pro-life, Pro-2nd Amendment and Pro-President Trump.” He said he supports “our President and his policies that will Make America Great Again! Without question, I am the lone Republican that will stand for these ideas throughout my campaign and will work to get them enacted when in Congress.”

He said he believes the Democratic Party and “far-left” are “one in the same,” and want to “Make America Completely Different” instead of “Mak[ing] America Great.

“I believe that every candidate in this race including [Democrat] Susan Wild will say that we need to secure our borders to achieve what they say. When I say we need to secure our borders I mean we need to build the wall, period – no exceptions, no excuses.

“We absolutely must stop the tide of illegal immigrants that are flowing across our borders and swamping the schools, hospitals and services of local communities in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.”

Browning said he will try to defund “sanctuary cities” of “every single penny of federal funding” until they “comply with federal law,” though the Trump administration’s efforts in this vein have been repeatedly stymied by courts.

Browning advocates for strong defense to include a 350-ship Navy to counter Russian and Chinese challenges.

In response to a question, he said would support federal funding to help reduce homelessness among U.S. veterans.

Browning said he is originally from Tennessee, but graduated high school in Cincinnati, Ohio. He has a bachelor of science degree from Denison University and master of science degree from Georgia Tech. He said he has worked at Air Products, Coca Cola, Harvel Plastics and New World Aviation, where he was the chief financial officer for 19 years. He lives in South Whitehall Township with his wife.