Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie unseats U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

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(The Center Square) – Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie unseated U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in the closely watched race for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District. 

The Associated Press declared Harvie the winner by early Wednesday morning. As of 10:20 a.m., with 98% of the votes counted, Harvie received 52.7% of the vote, while Fitzpatrick tallied 47.3%. 

“Bucks and Montgomery County voters have sent an unmistakable message: this seat doesn’t belong to one person or one political party, it belongs to the people,” Harvie said in a statement. “And the people have put their trust in a guy from Bristol Borough – raised on Roosevelt St., and the first in my family to graduate from college – to fight for them and their families in the halls of Congress. Only in America.”

“We shocked a whole lot of political pundits who said for months that this race wasn’t winnable,” he continued. “We did it with a simple message: if you want to change Washington, we’ve got to change who we send there. And change Washington is exactly what we’re going to do.”

The race between Harvie and Fitzpatrick was the closest congressional contest on the 2026 ballot in the Keystone State. 

In the months leading up to the midterm election, the showdown in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District drew increased attention as Democrats saw an environment that offered them their best opportunity in years to unseat Fitzpatrick.

Gov. Josh Shapiro made multiple visits to the district in the final weeks in an attempt to boost Harvie’s campaign. Shapiro, at the top of the ticket in Pennsylvania, cruised to victory, defeating State Treasurer Stacy Garrity.

A Philadelphia Inquirer/New York Times/Siena University poll conducted in late October showed Harvie holding a narrow lead.

A trio of national ratings outlets also saw the race as a jump ball between the two parties. The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race as a toss-up, while Sabato’s Crystal Ball gave the narrow edge to Harvie, rating the race as “Leans Democratic.”

Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the bipartisan U.S. House Problem Solvers Caucus, often touted his bipartisan bona fides in the race and attempted to distance himself from President Donald Trump. He promoted endorsements from various unions, who typically back Democrats, and some GOP-aligned groups. 

Trump never formally weighed in on the race and Fitzpatrick was the lone Republican incumbent congressman serving in Pennsylvania to not endorse Garrity for governor. 

Harvie and other Democrats noted, however, that despite Fitzpatrick being described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as the “least loyal Republican,” he still voted in support of Trump’s agenda a majority of the time.

During his pitch to voters, Harvie often linked Fitzpatrick to Trump. 

“My promise to Bucks and Montgomery County voters is that I will go to the mat for you and fight to lower costs, clean up corruption, end this reckless war in Iran, and put a check on Donald Trump,” Harvie said in a statement early Wednesday morning. “I am ready to do all of that and more.”

In addition to Shapiro, various Democrats from across the country visited Bucks County in an effort to promote Harvie’s campaign. 

Heading into the cycle, the race for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District was widely viewed as the biggest uphill battle for Democrats among the four seats they were targeting in Pennsylvania. The last time a Democrat won a Bucks County-based congressional seat was U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy’s successful bid for a second term in 2008. 

Fitzpatrick is the only Republican serving in the Keystone State who represents a district that Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024.

The race for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District was expensive as both candidates spent millions boosting their campaigns in the Philadelphia media market. 

In addition to Harvie turning the suburban seat blue, Democrats flipped three other congressional seats in the state. 

Bob Brooks, Paige Cognetti, and Janelle Stelson all won their campaigns to unseat GOP U.S. Reps. Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, and Scott Perry for Pennsylvania’s 7th, 8th, and 10th Districts.