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Bucks County’s Bob Harvie will face Brian Fitzpatrick in the fall as Democrats choose nominees for key Pa. swing seats

All of Gov. Josh Shapiro's endorsed candidates for Congress won their primary races.

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie addresses supporters during a primary election party in Warminster hosted by Gov. Josh Shapiro. Harvie will face U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the fall.
Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie addresses supporters during a primary election party in Warminster hosted by Gov. Josh Shapiro. Harvie will face U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the fall. Read moreSteven M. Falk / For The Inquirer

Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie won the Democratic nomination for Congress in a key suburban swing district Tuesday night, setting up a contentious matchup with incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) this fall.

Harvie defeated Lucia Simonelli. a grassroots candidate and climate policy expert in the 1st Congressional District, which encompasses all of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County, The Associated Press projected at 9:44 p.m.

Harvie and Fitzpatrick, who ran unopposed in the GOP primary, will now face off in what will likely be one of the most-watched congressional races in the country.

Pennsylvania will play a crucial role in determining control of the House. Fitzpatrick’s seat is one of four being targeted by both parties — along with the 7th, 8th, and 10th Districts.

Harvie was one of four congressional candidates in the state endorsed by Gov. Josh Shapiro ahead of the primary, all of whom won their races. He joined the popular governor for an election night party at The Fuge, a former naval air development center in Warminster.

He used his speech as an opportunity to tie Fitzpatrick to President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings have dropped sharply amid a spike in gas prices. He accused Fitzpatrick of helping Trump’s agenda — though Fitzpatrick has taken several votes against Trump, including last week when he voted to limit the president’s war powers in Iran.

“We need people who are going to stand up to Donald Trump, not just stand aside,” Harvie said.

Shapiro, who took to the same stage moments later, told a raucous Bucks County crowd that November wins in these key districts would put a check on Trump.

“We’re angry that this country that we love so much feels like it’s slipping away, that the values that we hold dear are being squandered by a president and his band of enablers hellbent on injecting chaos, cruelty, and corruption into our lives every day,” Shapiro said in his roughly 20-minute speech.

Shapiro’s case for a presidential campaign in 2028 will be strengthened if he can help flip the U.S. House by elevating Harvie and other swing district candidates in the fall when he’ll also be on the ballot.

Democrats are confident in Harvie’s chances to seriously challenge Fitzpatrick, given that he’s the Republican lawmaker’s first opponent to win a countywide office in purple Bucks. Allies have also talked up his affordability-focused messaging and his Bucks County roots.

But Fitzpatrick has proven himself formidable, consistently outperforming his party in the past five elections. He’s the last remaining Republican member of Congress in the Philadelphia region — a feat likely achieved by his moderate stance on issues, name recognition, and ability to garner support among voters across party lines.

Pennsylvania Democrats are anticipating a blue wave this fall, but even that is something Fitzpatrick has survived before.

“I think the people of the 1st District understand that things have gotten worse under Donald Trump over this last year and a half and that the Republican Congress has done absolutely nothing to change that,” said State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, chair of the Bucks County Democratic Party.

Democratic voters Tuesday were optimistic about Harvie’s background and his ability to beat Fitzpatrick.

“He’s just a good person,” said Kris Walski, 37, a real estate agent and former Pennsylvania House candidate who said he considers Harvie a friend.

Walski said that Harvie has greater name recognition than previous Fitzpatrick opponents, and that challenges at the federal level and the war in Iran, causing concerns about the economy, could spur turnout.

“I feel our chances are the strongest they’ve ever been,” he said.

But defeating Fitzpatrick remains a tall order in the famously swingy county.

Susan Cook, 63, said she plans to split her ticket between Fitzpatrick and Shapiro in the fall. For Cook, a school nurse, voting for Fitzpatrick is a matter of casting her ballot for someone who she feels has always been present in the community.

“He’s just been there,” she said.

James Markley, executive director and spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Republican Party, said the GOP is “confident” that voters will send Fitzpatrick back to Washington, D.C., to address rising costs, public safety issues, and “truly represent the people of his district.”

“Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick has been a fantastic public servant for the people of Bucks County,” Markley said.

Asked about the prospect of split tickets in the fall, Harvie said he expected to have the resources needed to persuade swing voters to choose his name over Fitzpatrick’s.

“He’s never run against a candidate who has the roots in the county that I have... and he’s not going to outwork me,” Harvie said.

Bob Brooks wins Lehigh Valley race with Shapiro’s backing

In the most closely watched competitive primary among the four targeted Pennsylvania districts this year, union leader and retired firefighter Bob Brooks won the Democratic nomination in the Lehigh Valley-based 7th District.

His victory over three other viable candidates is a win for Shapiro and a long list of other state and national Democrats who recruited and then threw their political weight behind him. Both Brooks and his supporters made the race almost entirely focused on his persona and background as a working-class outsider who they believed can win in a crucial swing seat.

“This is a victory for every person across our community who has felt left behind, is tired of a broken Washington, and is ready to send more working class voices to Congress to fight for us,” Brooks said in a news release after he secured the nomination.

Soraya Leon, 61, voted for Brooks in Allentown, citing his focus on economic issues and because he came “highly recommended” by Shapiro and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

“Salaries haven’t gone up, but everything else has,” she said in Spanish. “We have to think hard about how far we are willing to drive for things because of how expensive gas is.”

The district includes the cities of Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton while also stretching into the more Republican-leaning Poconos and rural Carbon and Monroe counties. U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R., Lehigh) is seeking a second term after narrowly defeating a three-term incumbent Democrat in the wave of Trump’s second election.

But even with a slew of endorsements and about $1 million in mostly union-funded ads boosting Brooks, the primary became increasingly heated.

Ryan Crosswell, a former Republican and federal prosecutor who resigned from Trump’s Justice Department last year, surpassed Brooks in fundraising and ran television ads.

And Lamont McClure, a recent former top elected official in Northampton County, struggled to build his own momentum but got a last-minute lift from a mysterious super PAC. Critics believed the PAC, called Lead Left, was a deceitful move by Republican operatives to help nominate a weaker candidate to go up against Mackenzie — and it spurred national Democrats to jump in with their own ads supporting Brooks in the final days of the race.

Another candidate, energy engineer and former U.S. Senate aide Carol Obando-Derstine, had the support of former U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, the last Democrat to hold the seat.

But Brooks’ working-class appeal ultimately won over voters who were worried about housing costs and other economic issues.

“I believe he will work for me because he’s not already a politician,” said Betty Wimberly, a 73-year-old Allentown voter. “They haven’t experienced what I’ve experienced.”

Stelson and Perry set for rematch in Harrisburg area

In the Harrisburg area, Democrat Janelle Stelson will face Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry for a rematch in the fall after winning the primary Tuesday for another key Pennsylvania swing seat.

Stelson defeated Justin Douglas, chair of the Dauphin County Commissioners, in the race to be on the ballot in the 10th Congressional District, which includes Dauphin County and parts of York and Cumberland Counties.

Stelson, a former broadcast journalist and former Republican, kept her primary campaign focused on defeating Perry, just as she did when she won a crowded primary in 2024.

The Democrat lost by a little more than 1 percentage point in her attempt to oust Perry in 2024, a year when Republicans saw broad success in Pennsylvania. Perry, 64, a longtime ally of Trump, has held onto his seat for seven terms.

Stelson joins Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat who also secured her party’s nomination Tuesday night, in boasting a strong fundraising operation in support of a campaign to a vulnerable Republican incumbent.

Cognetti, who ran unopposed in the primary in Northeast Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, will face freshman U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R., Lackawanna) in the fall.

Staff writers Dana Munro, Ximena Conde, and Aliya Schneider contributed reporting.