Democratic challengers to U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick court voters in Horsham town hall

From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

There is a crowded pool of Democrats running to challenge U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the race for the 1st Congressional District in 2026.

Democratic hopefuls Tracy Hunt, Lucia Simonelli and Rob Strickler held a town hall Tuesday at the Horsham Township Community Center to captivate voters in the purple seat that encompasses all of Bucks County and parts of Montgomery County.

Bob Harvie, who is also a Democratic candidate, declined an invitation to join them.

More than 60 people gathered to question the three candidates about their campaigns, electability and platform. Moderator Kim Barbaro told WHYY News that the turnout “disproves” any notion that it is too early to begin voter outreach.

“Those who are anti-establishment in terms of political parties feel lost — whether they are registered Democrat, registered Republican — they feel they have lost their power within any democracy,” Barbaro, co-founder of Upper Bucks United, said. “And I think allowing constituent voices to take stage and have the candidates respond to that is so important.”

Fitzpatrick is the last Republican representing one of Philadelphia’s collar counties in Congress. The five-term House member has held the seat since 2018, winning every single election — even as Democrats seized control of the Board of Commissioners and row offices.

As Democrats look to flip the House of Representatives in the upcoming midterms to quell President Donald Trump’s agenda, winning a majority of the few competitive races is paramount for the party. Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District could be one of those races.

Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner, is widely seen as a front-runner in the Democratic primary. His campaign said he is open to forums in the future. Harvie has held his own town halls in Bucks County.

Introducing the candidates

Before the three Democrats answered questions, each of them took a moment to reflect on why they are running. Hunt, a former Republican, said the direction of the GOP forced him to do some “soul searching.” He switched parties in June.

“What has motivated me is I’m just so distraught by the amount of divisiveness in our society,” Hunt said.

He claimed that the Republican Party has “gone off the cliff into an authoritarian regime.” The longtime attorney and Delaware Valley University professor blamed “establishment politicians.”

“They’re taking our voice away from us,” Hunt said. “This is our government, not theirs. And that’s where my frustration lies.”

Simonelli is a scientist with a doctorate from the University of Maryland in mathematics. She worked in the U.S. Senate as a science fellow.

“Patriotism in the United States is something that is often presented as a given or an expectation,” Simonelli said. “It’s something that I’ve struggled with. Because what is patriotism when your country continues to commodify the human right that is health care?”

She said immigrants have been used as scapegoats to hide the “real reasons” behind the country’s financial problems.

“Those reasons are a system and a tax code and a regulatory structure that rewards the greed of oligarchs who are fueled by repression and inequality,” she said.

She said she found her patriotism in the legislative process and that it has powered her desire to run for Congress.

Strickler is a Bucks County native. He married his high school sweetheart. The former video game designer and software product manager said he’s semi-retired.

“I am concerned — that’s putting it too mildly,” he said. “I’m afraid for our democracy and our republic.”

He said billionaires and corporations are controlling Congress, buying policy and politicians. Strickler wants to remove money from the electoral process and level the playing field.

“I’m running in hopes of making things better for working-class people,” Strickler said. “So much so that they will never again turn to a race-baiting demagogue like Trump.”

Examining the issues

Affordability proved to be one of the defining issues of the 2025 general election. The candidates participating in the town hall offered their own perspectives on steps they are prepared to take.

Simonelli zeroed in on universal health care.

“This is the moment, because people are tired of these Band-Aid fixes — these extensions that are maybe successes today but in three years failures again,” she said. “There are steps to take towards Medicare for All if we can’t get there quite yet.”

Strickler also expressed support for a single-payer health care system. He said his “bold ideas” are aligned with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

“That’s how we win these elections,” he said. “We have to have bold ideas and not run a conservative campaign that seems more designed to not lose than to win.”

Hunt focused on raising the federal minimum wage.

“Pennsylvania’s is woefully low,” he said. “It’s embarrassing. Every state around us is in double digits. We’re still at the federal minimum wage. I believe attacking health care premiums and making insurance health care companies responsible will help lower costs as well.”

For some of the topical issues, there wasn’t much disagreement. The three candidates were similarly critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following an agent’s Jan. 7 killing of Renee Good in Minnesota.

The candidates expressed varying degrees of skepticism about the spread of artificial intelligence data centers and critiqued the U.S. government’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.

“Speaking as the son of somebody who has been deployed in the military, my problem with what’s going on is his just laissez-faire approach to deploying our military,” Hunt said. “These are people’s sons and daughters and he’s doing it for whatever the hell reasons he’s doing it for, but you shouldn’t be doing that.”

Strickler said the operation was a product of special interests hijacking politics. He accused oil executives of donating loads of money to elect Republicans.

“Now, they’re getting a return on that investment,” he said. “You don’t have to overthink Venezuela. It’s about oil.”

Simonelli took aim at administrations past and present for continuing a trend of orchestrating regime changes across the globe. Sometimes, she said these changes were driven by special interests, not morality.

“I do not think the question is either whether Maduro was good or bad — because he was bad. Or whether not there could be change or not — which there’s not. But whether we should be intervening and whether we should be deciding for other people,” Simonelli said. “I think the United States needs to change fundamentally how we act. We need to act with more humility and more respect because we are part of a global system. Right now, we’re bullies.”

Do the candidates stand a chance?

Hunt’s strategy for defeating Fitzgerald in a theoretical general election is centered around corralling independent and unaffiliated voters in Bucks County and swaying them toward his campaign. He called himself a “modern Democrat.”

“I embrace all of the Democratic policies that are out there, but I can go to those 85,000 [independent and unaffiliated voters] and I don’t have an agenda,” Hunt said. “I don’t have a 15-year Democratic voting record to have to answer to.”

Hunt said no one is calling out Fitzpatrick for what he believes are his legislative failures as co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus. Fitzpatrick’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment via email.

“Brian cannot out-moderate me,” he said. “Unless he’s willing to change parties, he’s not going to out-moderate me. So I’m going to take that lane from him.”

Like Hunt, Strickler was once a Republican. He said he’s a “brawler” that can chip away at Fitzpatrick’s “veneer.”

“Michelle Obama, I love her. She famously said, ‘When they go low, we go high.’ I say, ‘You know they’re going to go low, take them out at their knees.’ That’s how I’m going to beat Brian Fitzpatrick,” Strickler said.

Simonelli also said she’s primed for a fight.

“If Representative Fitzpatrick calls himself a centrist, then centrist is synonymous with spineless and not knowing where you stand,” Simonelli said. “To beat someone like Fitzpatrick, we don’t need to try to be like him. We need to show people why we’re different.”

The Democratic candidates also shared some criticism of Harvie for not participating in this town hall.

“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.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee said Harvie is “so spineless that he can’t even face his own radical base in a forum where his positions might be challenged.”

The primary petition process begins Feb. 17 and runs through March 10. The Bucks County Democratic Committee’s endorsement vote is Feb. 21. The county Democratic Committee is not unique in having bylaws ordering an endorsement vote during the petition process.

Nonetheless, the candidates felt as though Harvie was a lock to receive the party’s endorsement. Strickler called Harvie “the establishment candidate.” Harvie’s campaign declined to comment.

“There’s a thumb on the scale from the establishment,” Hunt said.

The primary election in Pennsylvania is May 19. Polls will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The last day to register to vote is May 4.

The deadline to request a mail ballot is May 12.