Bob Harvie wins Democratic primary for Pa.’s 1st Congressional District

Bob Harvie has bested Lucia Simonelli in the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.

The Bucks County commissioner and former high school social studies teacher will face off against Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in November in one of four key Pennsylvania races Democrats are targeting to take control of the U.S. House.

“We need actual leadership in Congress,” Harvie told a crowd gathered at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s election night watch party in Warminster Township, Bucks County, on Tuesday night. “We need people who are going to stand up to Donald Trump, not just stand aside.”

Simonelli, a Lansdale native, holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland. She was previously a scientific advisor in the U.S. Senate. Her campaign focused on providing universal healthcare, tackling corporate greed and taxing the ultra-wealthy.

“While we didn’t win this particular election, we’re incredibly proud of what was accomplished,” Simonelli said Tuesday night in a campaign video. “Through the hard work of everyday people in our communities, we didn’t run a typical campaign. We had half the time, a 10th of the funding, and began this race without volunteers or staff — with only a chalkboard and a vision for a government that serves all of us, not just the billionaire class.”

Harvie criticized President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and other social welfare programs since he took office last January.

“It’s too easy just to put the blame on him, because he’s got people like Brian Fitzpatrick who are helping him do the damage that they’re doing to this commonwealth and this district,” Harvie told the crowd. “It has been 10 years. 10 years of Brian Fitzpatrick. Is your life better now than it was 10 years ago? No.”

Fitzpatrick, who has often ranked among the most bipartisan members of Congress, ran unopposed in the Republican primary. The former FBI special agent was first elected in Congress in 2016 to represent the 8th Congressional District after the incumbent, his older brother Michael Fitzpatrick, decided not to run again. Following redistricting in 2018, Brian Fitzpatrick was reelected to represent the 1st Congressional District, which encompasses all of Bucks County and parts of Montgomery County.

Fitzpatrick defeated Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz in the 2024 and 2022 general elections by more than nine percentage points.

The Democratic establishment has pinned its hopes of flipping the seat on Harvie, widely seen as one of the most competitive candidates the Republican has faced since taking office. Born and raised in Bristol Borough, Harvie is a lifelong Bucks County resident. Along with Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, Harvie flipped the county board of commissioners to Democratic control in 2019 for the first time in nearly four decades.

After he was declared the winner Tuesday night, Harvie told WHYY News that he is focusing on affordability going into the November general election face-off with Fitzpatrick.

“Government is supposed to work for people, it’s supposed to make your life easier, not harder,” Harvie said. “It’s supposed to solve problems, not create new ones. And right now, obviously, it’s not doing that, and [voters] know that. And they’re angry, they’re angry at the lack of leadership in Washington, they’re angry at the waste and the fraud and the abuse … They want a government that works.”

Harvie launched his congressional campaign in April 2025. At the time, state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, chair of the Bucks County Democratic Committee, told WHYY News that Harvie “has a real chance to win.”

Simonelli and a host of candidates challenging Harvie in the Democratic primary criticized the county Democratic Committee’s decision to endorse Harvie before the March 10 deadline to get on the ballot.

“The politics-as-usual crowd would like us to believe that creating real change is impossible and that we are asking for too much,” Simonelli said, congratulating Harvie. “We’re here to say that we write the future we want to see. When working people unite and organize for a better world, anything is possible. This is bigger than any single candidate or any single campaign. This is a movement.”

Harvie has touted his own bipartisan record in office and his electoral victories in a county that President Donald Trump narrowly carried in the 2024 elections.

As county commissioner, he said he has had an over 90% bipartisan voting record, and has focused on improving access to mental health care, public safety, sustainability, job growth and housing issues.

“That’s actual bipartisanship, that’s not some phony phrase you put on a billboard and hope nobody asks any questions about it,” Harvie told WHYY News. “Brian Fitzpatrick talks about being a problem solver. I don’t know any problem he solved, other than getting himself reelected.”

Fitzpatrick’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fitzpatrick has often sought to distance himself from President Donald Trump, but has faced attacks from Democrats for consistently siding with the Republican Party on critical legislation.

On the first round of voting for the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” last year, Fitzpatrick voted to advance the legislation to the Senate. When the bill came back to the House, he voted “no,” saying it was because of amendments on Medicaid the Senate had added.