National Democrats officially get behind Bob Harvie and Bob Brooks ahead of competitive Pennsylvania primaries

The campaign arm representing U.S. House Democratic leaders is officially getting behind candidates in two Pennsylvania districts where the party has contested primaries this month and where they’re hoping to unseat a pair of Republicans in the high-stakes midterms later this year.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Monday announced its support for Bob Harvie in the Bucks County-based 1st Congressional District and Bob Brooks in the Lehigh Valley-based 7th Congressional District. The decision solidifies the party establishment’s support for a pair of candidates who have already collected a long list of endorsements.

It’s also another signal that national Democrats plan to invest significant resources into working to defeat five-term U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and three other Pennsylvania Republicans in seats that could determine which party controls the House next January.

“Bob [Harvie] is the strongest candidate to take on Brian Fitzpatrick and finally give Bucks and Montgomery County families a leader in Congress who will stand up to Donald Trump and make life more affordable,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene, a member of Congress from Washington state, said in a statement.

Both Harvie and Brooks were added to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” list. The program identifies “top-tier candidates” whom// the organization, which had $70 million in its PAC at the end of March, plans to support with fundraising and organizational assistance, like staffing, training and strategic guidance.

Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner, is facing climate policy expert Lucia Simonelli in the May 19 primary. The 1st District covers all of Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County. Fitzpatrick, a moderate Republican, has represented the district since 2017 and is the last remaining federal GOP lawmaker in the Philadelphia area.

Brooks, running in the Lehigh Valley-based district, is the president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association and a retired firefighter in Bethlehem. He’s racked up endorsements from Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and a laundry list of other notable party figures and organizations ahead of a competitive four-way primary this month.

DelBene said in a statement that Brooks “understands the challenges that hardworking Lehigh Valley families are facing because he’s lived them himself, and he has the callouses on his hands to prove it.” U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie was first elected to the seat in 2024 and is considered one of the most vulnerable sitting Republicans in the country this year.

Six other candidates in districts across the country were added to the DCCC’s “Red to Blue” program Monday. The group announced an initial slate of 12 in February, including two in Pennsylvania — former journalist Janelle Stelson, who is running a rematch campaign against U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R., York); and Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, who is running against U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R., Lackawanna).

House Majority PAC, another major national Democratic super PAC, also recently announced that it plans to spend $20 million on ads in the four Pennsylvania districts later this year. Its Republican counterpart, the Congressional Leadership Fund, said it would spend $13.5 million.

Though Democrats are widely anticipated to make gains after significant defeats in 2024, getting on the DCCC’s list and winning over other established groups isn’t a sure bet.

The group has targeted Fitzpatrick every cycle, coming up short as the incumbent continues to win with his distinct brand in an evenly divided district. When the DCCC added his opponent to the “Red to Blue” program almost exactly two years ago, they called veteran Ashley Ehasz “the right candidate for this moment to help Democrats turn PA-01 blue.”

Fitzpatrick went on to beat her in November by a healthy 13 percentage points.