Why Brian Fitzpatrick helped fund an early offense against Bob Harvie in key Bucks County congressional race

Attack ads are already circulating in Bucks County as the contentious general election battle to represent a crucial swing seat gets underway.

The early moves from U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a five-term Republican incumbent who ran a fairly quiet campaign against his 2024 challenger, and Democratic nominee Bob Harvie highlight the significance of the 1st Congressional District, one of four seats being targeted by both parties this fall with control of the U.S. House on the line, and the role that fundraising could play in the high-stakes contest.

Fitzpatrick’s campaign started spending on attack ads against Harvie prior to the May 19 primary, when the Bucks County commissioner won the contest to face the Republican lawmaker.

Ahead of the primary, the Pennsylvania Republican Party’s federal PAC — which Fitzpatrick’s campaign has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to — sent mailers calling Harvie a “king,” using language and imagery associated with the anti-Trump “No Kings Protests.”

And a group called “Fire Bob Harvie” made posts on social media platforms, paid for by Fitzpatrick’s campaign committee, calling Harvie “arrogant” and an “elitist.” An accompanying video shows Harvie losing his temper with former Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran, a Republican, though that’s not made clear in the ad.

Fitzpatrick’s $7 million war chest has allowed him to start spending early on attack ads against Harvie ahead of November, when Republicans will be on defense nationally.

Harvie claimed the spending against him shows Fitzpatrick “doesn’t have a record to run on” after 10 years in Congress.

“What can he point to as an accomplishment?” Harvie asked last week. ”He doesn’t have one. If they actually had something to run on, if they had a plan on how to make people’s lives better, he’d run on that."

Christopher Nicholas, a GOP consultant who grew up in Bucks County, said the ads are about defining Harvie.

“They need to emphasize his bumps and bruises and warts because in today’s political environment, generic Democrats are doing very good against Republicans,” he said.

Democrats say Harvie’s two countywide wins for office in Bucks show he’ll be better equipped to compete than past challengers, but his name recognition and time in public office also gives Fitzpatrick’s campaign and Republican groups more material to use against him.

“He’s not brand new to politics without a record,” Nicholas said. “He’s been around for a long time and has votes and actions he’ll need to defend.”

For instance, a recurring theme for Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, and allied groups is to call Harvie a subject of an investigation by the bureau, referring to a probe related to Falls Township.

Harvie has repeatedly said for years that he has never been the target of any investigation. The commissioner, a former Falls Township board of supervisors chair, joined several other officials in testifying before a federal grand jury, LevittownNow reported in September 2022.

“All he can do is attack and lie about me, which he’s been doing for over a year now, and the Republican Party has for several years,” Harvie said last week. “They lied about me in 2019. I won. They lied about me in ’23, I won. So it’s clear that I think the voters want real answers.”

Republicans have also lambasted Harvie and fellow Democratic Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia for voting in 2024 to count undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots during a heated U.S. Senate recount, which violated a state Supreme Court ruling.

And the state GOP’s federal PAC, the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, has called Harvie a “career politician.” Prior to beginning his tenure as commissioner in 2020, Harvie was on the Falls Township Board of Supervisors for 17 years, and spent 12 of those as chair.

James Markley, executive director and communications director for the PA GOP, said in a statement that the party is ready to invest in Fitzpatrick’s reelection bid “to keep our majority in Congress.”

Fitzpatrick’s principal campaign committee, called Brian Fitzpatrick For All of Us, has given at least $350,000 so far to the federal PAC this year. Other groups aligned with the lawmaker, like Team Fitz — a joint fundraising venture with organizations like the National Republican Congressional Committee — have also donated.

Fitzpatrick has already spent $2.81 million from Jan. 1, 2025, to April 29, 2026, according to campaign finance reports. During the whole of the 2024 campaign cycle, he spent $3.47 million.

The Fitzpatrick campaign has also paid for white lawn signs popping up around the county that say Harvie voted to give himself a raise.

These signs are likely referring to a December 2022 vote from the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, which Harvie chaired that year, approving a yearly 1% increase in salaries, starting in January 2024 until January 2027, for the commissioners and several other local offices.

Ellis-Marseglia and Republican Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, also voted in support of the salary increase. The Board of Commissioners is required by law to set the salaries prior to an upcoming election year for most county level roles, including their own.

Fitzpatrick’s early spending comes amid increased investments from national Democrats in the district and a litany of attacks against the GOP lawmaker.

Harvie, who has raised $1.45 million, according to campaign finance reports, argues that he’ll be able to outwork Fitzpatrick and fundraise enough to beat him.

The race is rated as “likely Republican” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, but Harvie and allies believe the commissioner’s roots in Bucks, countywide wins, and campaign message will put him on a path to success.

The commissioner earlier this month launched his first official campaign ad of the year, which sought to tie Fitzpatrick to President Donald Trump’s deeply unpopular agenda (despite the lawmaker straying from Trump on numerous key issues and earning the president’s ire). And national Democrats have thrown resources behind him, including announcing a set of digital attack ads Tuesday.

Harvie is a candidate on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue list,” meaning the commissioner’s critiques of Fitzpatrick are being bolstered by national party resources.

The DCCC launched its first general election digital ad campaign Tuesday, backed by an initial five-figure buy, targeting Fitzpatrick and the three other incumbent Republicans representing Pennsylvania swing districts. The post about Fitzpatrick seeks to tie him to Trump-aligned donors.

“Voters are going to hear about how they are hurting Pennsylvania families from now until Election Day,” DCCC spokesperson Eli Cousin said in a statement.