U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent has won his fifth term in Congress in Pennsylvania’s 15^th District, easily defeating Democratic challenger Rick Daugherty.

WFMZ is reporting that Dent had a better than 30,000-vote lead over Daugherty with 59 percent of the precincts reporting in the district, which covers all of Lehigh County and portions of Northampton and Berks counties.

Both candidates campaigned around their vision of the best way to create jobs.

Daugherty, the executive director of the Lehigh County Senior Center, said that the American jobs market is tied to its trade policy and that the United States needs to end relationships with rule-breaking countries or enforce tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs.

Dent criticized Daugherty’s “isolationist” leanings and said the main thing American manufacturers need is reduced taxes, fewer and clearer regulations and reduced federal debt.

See a gallery of Dent's subdued victory party at the Holiday Inn in Fogelsville.

The incumbent also blamed the struggling jobs market on Obamacare, saying the uncertainty surrounding the new healthcare law has slowed job creation. Dent pledged to cast a vote to repeal Obamacare after re-election.

Daugherty supported the Affordable Health Care Act, saying that the quality of care people receive should not be tied to their ability to pay. Further, he said an emphasis on preventative care would ultimately save money.

Dent, 52, of Allentown has been in elective office since 1990, when he was elected to the state House. Daugherty, 62, of Lowhill Township, once worked in the office of former Congressman Paul McHale, the last Democrat to represent the Lehigh Valley.