Josh Shapiro endorses Bob Harvie’s campaign to oust Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County congressional seat

Gov. Josh Shapiro has officially thrown his support behind Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie’s campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick.

The Democratic governor’s endorsement comes a little more than a week ahead of the May 19 primary when Harvie will face grassroots candidate Lucia Simonelli for the party’s nomination to face Republican Fitzpatrick in the 1st Congressional District this fall.

“Bob Harvie is a public servant who has dedicated his career to serving his community — from teaching our kids to delivering for working families all across Bucks County,” Shapiro said in a news release shared with The Inquirer on Sunday.

The district, which covers all of Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County, is one of four Republican-held seats that Democrats in Pennsylvania are targeting as they hope to retake the House amid President Donald Trump’s sinking approval ratings.

Democrats are also banking on Shapiro’s popularity boosting Harvie and other swing-district candidates with the race for governor also on the ballot this fall.

With his endorsement of Harvie, Shapiro has now picked a preferred candidate in each of the four districts his party is targeting.

Shapiro said he’s worked with Harvie on issues involving schools, law enforcement, and job creation and that he knows the commissioner’s “first vote in Congress will be for a Democrat to serve as Speaker of the House and to advance a legislative agenda that helps Pennsylvania and stands up against the chaos, cruelty, and corruption of Donald Trump.”

The governor won Bucks County with 59% of the vote during his 2022 gubernatorial race, but that year Fitzpatrick won reelection by 10 points.

A year later, Shapiro, a former Montgomery County commissioner, made his first political endorsement as governor when he cut an ad for Harvie and Democrat Diane Ellis-Marseglia in their successful reelection bid for Bucks’ commissioners board in 2023, according to Harvie’s campaign.

In a statement Sunday, Harvie said it is an “honor” to have Shapiro’s support and that he looks forward to seeing him out on the campaign trail.

“This is one of the most important congressional races in the entire country, and Bucks and Montgomery voters have a chance to reject Donald Trump, Brian Fitzpatrick, and a broken Washington that is pushing the American Dream further out of reach,” Harvie said.

The likely contest between Harvie and Fitzpatrick will be tough. Fitzpatrick’s fundraising prowess and moderate voting record has helped him outperform his party and hold onto the seat in previous blue waves. And Fitzpatrick has earned the president’s ire by being one of two Republican House members to vote against final passage of Trump’s sweeping tax cuts and spending cuts bill last year (after he voted for an earlier version of the bill).

Democrats see Harvie — who has won countywide races in Bucks and has a campaign message focused on affordability — as their best bet to unseat the Republican incumbent.

Fitzpatrick, for his part, appears to understand the importance of Shapiro’s voters in deciding the race.

The Bucks County Republican said last month he thinks Shapiro will win reelection and that he should run for president.