Five Democratic candidates are facing off for the opportunity to unseat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) from the Pennsylvania seat he has held for nearly a decade.
Every year that Fitzpatrick has run for Congress, he has faced a primary challenge from a further-right GOP candidate. This year, he is running unchallenged on the Republican ticket for the first time, while the Democratic ticket in Pennsylvania’s first district is fielding a crowded primary.
The moderate, four-term congressman has proven himself a difficult candidate for Democrats to beat. The co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, Fitzpatrick has voted as a Maverick among congressional Republicans as he answers to his bipartisan, swing district constituency.Â
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Despite sending the Republican to the House in every election since 2018, PA-01, which covers all of Bucks and parts of Montgomery County, voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and former President Joe Biden in 2020. The district’s local political boards are also largely run by Democrats.
Fitzpatrick voted against the final passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, citing concerns over the Senate’s medicaid amendments as to why he flipped from his initial “yes” vote. He voted with House Democrats and 17 other Republicans for a three-year extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies, while also touting President Donald Trump’s work in securing the border.Â
By breaking rank on two issues that have been major talking points for Democratic candidates in the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections — the OBBBA and Obamacare subsidies — Fitzpatrick has given his Democratic opponents less to work with in terms of negative hits. The congressional Republican also has a drastic fundraising lead, with over $7.36 million in cash on hand, boasting over $6.95 million more than the next closest candidate, Democratic Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie.
But Democrats continue to see PA-01 as a seat that could swing their way. Nearly half a dozen Democratic candidates are campaigning for the congressional seat, targeting Fitzpatrick’s record as they vie to flip the district blue.
Bob Harvie and the Democrats running for PA-01
Harvie, vice chairman of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, leads the pack of Democratic candidates as the significant favorite. Harvie started in local politics in the early 2000s, and has served as a county commissioner since 2020 as a Democratic leader within the district.Â
The Bucks County native boasts the name recognition and cash advantage over his other Democratic challengers. He has raised the most of any of the Democrats with over $408,000 in cash on hand. He’s running on a message of restoring the American dream, prioritizing lowering living costs, closing tax loopholes for the ultra-wealthy, building housing, and expanding affordable healthcare.
“We need a congressman who’s going to fight for these kids’ educations. We need a congressman who’s going to fight to protect Social Security and Medicare. We want a congressman who’s going to help people build their American dream and continue living that American dream,” Harvie said in his May 2025 campaign announcement video.
Harvie has also railed against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics and foreign policy strategies in Venezuela, seeking to tie Fitzpatrick to the administration’s playbook. The Bucks County Democrat has been vocal, condemning Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.Â
“Last week we saw the horrific murder of Renee Good. Today, another American has been killed because of the recklessness of Kristi Noem and Donald Trump. Brian Fitzpatrick has cowered to this administration over and over again, and Americans are paying with their lives,” Harvie said.
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To get to the general election against Fitzpatrick, Harvie needs to beat out several other candidates who have declared their candidacy for the Democratic nomination. Attorney Tracy Hunt, former U.S. Senate scientific adviser Lucia Simonelli, businessman Rob Strickler, and former private school CFO Thomas Taft have all announced their campaigns for the seat.
Hunt, a former Republican, pitches himself as a moderate and calls himself a “modern democrat.”
“If you believe like I do, that we can still solve problems, that no one is above the law, that government has a place, but not between my daughters and their doctor, or you just want to find out what the heck is in those Epstein files, you’ve got a place in this party and on this campaign,” Hunt said in his campaign announcement video.Â
Hunt, Simonelli, and Strickler all participated in a town hall in January, marketing themselves as three political outsiders vying for a chance to represent their neighbors. Â
Simonelli expressed disappointment with Harvie for not showing up to the town hall, though he was invited according to WHYY, saying the Democratic candidates can better their chances of flipping the district by exchanging ideas together.
“I also think we make each other better,” Simonelli said. “We get to hear ideas and exchange ideas and so the reason I’m disappointed that Bob Harvie is not here is because I think we can all benefit from having a forum like this one.”
What they are saying
The Democrats are hitting Fitzpatrick hard, continually bashing his initial “yes” vote to advance the OBBBA out of the house and saying he doesn’t stand up to the Trump administration enough. Simonelli called him “spineless,” while Hunt said the congressman “cannot out-moderate” him.
But Fitzpatrick and the National Republican Congressional Committee are bashing these criticisms, pointing to Fitzpatrick’s record of bipartisanship.Â
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is hammering Fitzpatrick on affordability issues, saying he has failed to lower costs for Pennsylvanians, his lack of town halls, and his vote against the War Powers Resolution on Venezuela.
“Bucks and Montgomery families want a Congressman who will stand up to Trump and actually do something to lower prices, but Fitzpatrick is too weak to stand up to his own party when it matters most,” DCCC spokesperson Eli Cousin said in a statement.
Spokeswoman for Fitzpatrick’s campaign, Heather Roberts, marked the critiques coming from Democrats as dishonest.Â
“There is one objective fact that they cannot avoid, and that they have absolutely zero response to: Brian Fitzpatrick is consistently, year-in and year-out, and according to every outside objective scorecard, rated as the #1 most independent and bipartisan Congressman in the entire nation, having achieved the highest bipartisan score ever recorded in U.S. history,” Roberts said.
Fitzpatrick defeated his Democratic opponent, army veteran Ashley Ehasz, by about 12.8% points in 2024 and 9.8% points in 2022. His closest general election race was in 2018, when he defeated Democratic opponent Scott Wallace by 2.6%.
“His bipartisan congressional colleagues have repeatedly elected him as Chairman of the only Bipartisan Caucus in Congress. Brian’s opponents can make whatever self-serving statements they want, but our PA-1 community obviously knows better,” Roberts continued.
NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson said Fitzpatrick “continues to deliver results for Pennsylvanians.” He called Harvie “corrupt” and the other democratic candidates “clowns” who “are busy competing to see who can move the farthest left.”
“Bucks County Democrats are desperate, broke, and hopelessly out of touch,” Richardson said.
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Each of the candidates will petition for the primary nominations from February 17 through March 10. The primary will be held on May 19 ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
Sabato’s Crystal Ball, University of Virginia’s election forecaster, lists PA-01 as “leans Republican” as of Dec. 2025.