Bob Brooks stood before union leaders and supporters in Bethlehem, Pa., on Monday and made the case for the Pennsylvania 7th District Democratic Primary in plain language: he is one of them. The head of the state firefighters union called himself a working-class candidate and a working-class person, then said he has been working since he ran a paper route at age 10.

“The whole system is rigged against us,” Brooks said in a six-minute address that leaned on biography as much as politics. If elected, he would become one of the only House members without a college degree.

His opponent, Ryan Crosswell, is trying to make a different kind of argument. The Marine veteran and former federal prosecutor resigned from the Justice Department before launching his campaign, after an order to drop a corruption case against then-New York City Mayor Eric Adams pushed him out of the Public Integrity Section. He called that moment “a real No Kings moment” and said Trump “is literally trying to write Article One out of the Constitution.”

Crosswell has cast the race as one about corruption and lawlessness, calling corruption a kitchen-table issue and saying those concerns have been central throughout the campaign. “This is a time in this country where I think we’re really struggling for our own soul,” he said. Asked whether he has already stood up to Trump, he answered, “I’ve already done it.”

The contest is drawing unusually broad attention because Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District is arguably the state’s most competitive district, and Democrats are looking for a nominee with appeal beyond the party’s anti-Trump base. Leaders across the ideological spectrum, from Sen. Bernie Sanders to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, have lined up behind Brooks, a sign that party strategists see him as best placed to connect with voters who are worried about the economy. Democratic operatives say that is the top issue this fall and that the party needs more everymen like Brooks.

Andrew Mamo, a Democratic operative, said the support for Brooks amounts to “an admission that we need more normal people and fewer lawyers.” He added that “there are far more firefighters in the country than a-list lawyers,” a line that captures the political logic behind the endorsement push. Brooks, for his part, is betting that a lifetime of work and a fighter’s identity will matter more than credentials.

That leaves the race with a clear split: Brooks is selling belonging, while Crosswell is selling accountability. The result will show whether voters in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District want a candidate who sounds like the people he hopes to represent, or one who says the fight in Washington begins with corruption, lawlessness and a willingness to confront Trump head-on.