Pa. election 2026: Meet Bob Harvie and Lucia Simonelli, the Democrats fighting to unseat Brian Fitzpatrick in Congress

Bob Harvie and Lucia Simonelli are facing off in the May 19 Democratic primary in a bid to unseat Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick in November and represent Pennsylvania’s first congressional district.

Fitzpatrick, who often touts a commitment to bipartisanship, is running unopposed in the Republican primary. He was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 2016, to represent the eighth congressional district. After the state’s congressional districts were redrawn in 2018, Fitzpatrick 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. Ashley Ehasz was the Democratic candidate challenging Fitzpatrick in both 2022 and 2024, and was defeated both times.

This fall, Democrats are aiming to flip this and three other seats in Pennsylvania to take control of the House.

Only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary on 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, and the deadline to request a mail ballot is May 12.

Bucks County’s 1st Congressional District: What to know about the U.S. House seat

The district encompasses Bucks County and parts of Montgomery County.

Every member of the U.S. House of Representatives is elected to a two-year term, and 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.

Who is Bob Harvie?

Currently the vice chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, Bob Harvie launched his congressional campaign a year ago.

Born in Bristol Borough, Bucks County, Harvie spent more than two decades as a high school social studies teacher before jumping into politics, first as a member of the planning commission and then as a supervisor in Falls Township.

In 2019, he and Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia won seats on the county board of commissioners, giving it a Democratic majority for the first time in nearly 40 years.

At a town hall in Horsham in July 2025, Harvie challenged Fitzpatrick’s bipartisanship claims and touted his own record of working across the aisle as commissioner in a county that Trump narrowly carried in the 2024 elections.

“I’m committed to working for the people of this district, whether they vote for me or not,” Harvie told WHYY News at the forum last summer. “My job is to try and make their lives better. My job is to try and make sure they have a chance to achieve the American dream and to rebuild the middle-class and the working-class in this country, because right now they’re angry that they’re being left behind.”

What are Bob Harvie’s priorities?

Harvie is focused on pocketbook and affordability issues, per his campaign website, including raising the federal minimum wage, supporting union workers, repealing the Trump administration’s tariffs, boosting small businesses and codifying tax relief for the middle class.

Other priorities include:

• Improving roads, infrastructure
• Addressing the housing shortage crisis
• Investing more in education, from early childhood through career training and college
• Expanding affordable health care
• Campaign finance reform
• Public safety, including increasing funding for local law enforcement and restoring cybersecurity funding at the national level
• Increased support for veterans

Who has endorsed Bob Harvie?

Much of the Democratic establishment endorsed Harvie before the March 10 deadline to get on the ballot, a move some Democratic candidates criticized.

State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, chair of the Bucks County Democratic Committee, which has endorsed Harvie, told WHYY News last year that Harvie has “a real chance to win.”

“A Democratic majority in the U.S. House runs through the 1st District, and I think that is a compelling reason that many voters will have in voting for Bob,” he said.

In addition to the Bucks County Democratic Committee, Harvie’s endorsements include:

• The Montgomery County Democratic Committee
• U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean
• U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio
• U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon
• Former U.S. Rep Matt Cartwright
• Bucks County Democratic Chair Sen. Steve Santarsiero
• Montgomery County Democratic Chair Jason Salus
• Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia
• Montgomery County Commissioners Neil Makihja and Jamila Winder
• Bucks District Attorney Joe Khan
• Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler
• Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny
• Transport Workers Union Local 234
• Voter Protection Project
• Every Democratic member of the state Senate and state House delegation representing PA-01

Who is Lucia Simonelli?

Born to a working-class family in Lansdale, Montgomery County, Lucia Simonelli is a scientist and holds a PhD in mathematics.

Simonelli has emerged as Harvie’s sole challenger out of a crowded field of candidates.

At a town hall in January, the Quakertown resident said her work as a researcher and scientific adviser on energy and climate policy in the U.S. Senate inspired her congressional campaign.

What are Lucia Simonelli’s priorities?

She is focused on affordability issues and advocates for 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,” Simonelli said at the gathering. “There are steps to take towards Medicare for All if we can’t get there quite yet.”

At the same forum, Simonelli said she could defeat Fitzpatrick in the general election by charting her own course rather than adhering to a “centrist” label.

“To beat someone like Fitzpatrick, we don’t need to try to be like him,” she said. “We need to show people why we’re different.”

Other priorities for Simonelli, according to her campaign website, include:

• Reducing costs for housing, food and electricity
• Protecting social security
• Campaign finance reform and banning congressional stock trading
• Expanding clean energy projects and infrastructure
• Investing in science
• Tightening the tax code, including by supporting the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax Act
• Immigration reform, including by removing recently added fees for asylum and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants

Who has endorsed Lucia Simonelli?

• Former Pa. state Rep. Helen Tai
• Indivisible Montgomery County & Friends
• Indivisible Lower Merion
• Indivisible Greater Jenkintown
• Track AIPAC