Pa. election 2026: What to know about the 1st Congressional District race in Bucks County

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected to two-year terms. The number of representatives in each state is proportional to the state’s population. Legislators in the House introduce and vote on legislation, serve on committees, represent their districts and provide oversight to the executive branch, among other duties.

All 435 House seats across the country are up for election.

• Bucks County (all)
• Montgomery County (part)
  • East Greenville Borough
  • Franconia Township
  • Hatfield Borough
  • Hatfield Township
  • Horsham Township (part)
  • Marlborough Township
  • Montgomery Township
  • Pennsburg Borough
  • Red Hill Borough
  • Salford Township
  • Souderton Borough
  • Telford Borough (part)
  • Upper Hanover Township

Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District is one of four races in the commonwealth where Democrats are looking to take control of a seat now held by a Republican.

Unseating Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick has proved difficult for past challengers.

Fitzpatrick was first elected to Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District in 2016. After the state’s congressional districts were redrawn in 2018, he was reelected to represent what is now the 1st Congressional District.

In 2018, Scott Wallace came the closest of any Democratic candidate to unseating Fitzpatrick, capturing 48.7% of the vote.

Fitzpatrick bested Democratic candidate Ashley Ehasz in the past two elections, defeating her by more than 12 percentage points in the last contest.

Democrat Bob Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner, could pose Fitzpatrick’s toughest challenge to date. Both candidates have exchanged barbs and attacked one another’s records in a tense face-off that has included allegations of corruption, cease-and-desist letters and a defamation lawsuit.

Fitzpatrick considers himself a moderate. He’s split with the GOP on several issues, including on climate change, gun control and LGBTQ rights. He refused to endorse Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano’s unsuccessful bid for governor in 2022.

He’s also been involved with bipartisan efforts to establish good government policy, such as efforts to ban members of Congress from trading stocks.

While Fitzpatrick has voted to protect contraception access, his overall record on abortion rights is mixed.

In July 2022, Fitzpatrick voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified Roe v. Wade into law.

At the same time, he was one of three Republicans who voted for the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which affirmed the right for someone  to cross state lines for an abortion.

Fitzpatrick has largely avoided President Donald Trump and his far-right colleagues in Congress. He was absent from some of Trump’s and Vice President JD Vance’s campaign visits to Bucks County in 2024.

Trump’s second term has tested Fitzpatrick’s reputation as a moderate. While he initially voted to advance Trump’s tax-and-spending initiative known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” in 2025, Fitzpatrick ultimately voted against the final version of the bill, which significantly rolled back federal support for health care and food assistance.

In the 119th Congress, Fitzpatrick has been the prime sponsor of 85 bills and resolutions as of Sept. 8. He’s co-sponsored more than 1,200 bills and resolutions this cycle.

Fitzpatrick, who did not respond to numerous requests for an interview, lists a number of priorities on his website, including public safety. He is pushing for tougher penalties for “repeat criminal illegal immigrants.”

In regards to foreign policy, he has supported tougher sanctions on North Korea and Iran.

“I also have opposed the one-sided resolutions targeting our ally, Israel at the United Nations, as well as support efforts to achieve justice for American victims of Palestinian terrorism,” Fitzpatrick said on his campaign site.

He stated that he also wants to reform “unfair trade deals that put the American worker at a disadvantage.”

Fitzpatrick, author of the “No Budget, No Pay” bill, wants to block members of Congress from receiving pay during government shutdowns.

Additionally, Fitzpatrick is campaigning on enhancing senior benefits, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, boosting cancer research funding, removing barriers to substance-use disorder treatments and establishing stronger standards for regulating PFAS.

“I believe that anyone who works hard and plays by the rules should be able to achieve their own American dream,” Fitzpatrick said on the site. “My economic priorities are straightforward: support measures that put American workers and businesses back at the forefront of our economy to create family-sustaining careers and true wealth for our nation.”

Fitzpatrick’s endorsements include:

• Service Employees International Union Pennsylvania State Council
• AFL-CIO
• Bucks County Central Labor Council
• Montgomery County Central Labor Council
• Pennsylvania State Education Association
• National Education Association
• Humane World Action Fund
• American Federation of Government Employees
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund
• League of Conservation Voters Action Fund
• PA Conference of Teamsters
• IUPAT District Council 21
• American Conservation Coalition Action
• Bucks County Republican Committee

Harvie is focused on pocketbook and affordability issues, per his campaign website, and lists 12 priorities for what he terms a “new fair deal for working families.”

Those priorities include:

• Increasing health care access by restoring and expanding Affordable Care Act premium tax credits; lowering the age at which Americans can buy into Medicare from 65 to 55; and expanding Medicare’s authority to negotiate prescription drug prices
• Tax cut for the middle class
• Ban corporate PAC contributions
• Raise the minimum wage and roll back President Trump’s tariffs
• Prohibit congressional stock trading
• Release the Epstein files
• Ban former members of Congress for life from lobbying the federal government
• Establish an age limit of 80 for members of Congress
• Ban partisan gerrymandering
• Ban AI-driven surveillance pricing of groceries and other essential goods
• Rein in data center overdevelopment
• Invest in clean energy infrastructure and lower energy costs

Bob Harvie’s endorsements include:

• The Montgomery County Democratic Committee
• Bucks County Democrats
• Transport Workers Union Local 234
• Voter Protection Project
• Every Democratic member of the state Senate and state House delegation representing PA-01
• The American Federation of Teachers Pennsylvania
• New Democrat Coalition Action Fund
• MoveON
• Indivisible Bucks County
• End Citizens United
• Planned Parenthood Action Fund