(The Center Square) \u2013 As control of the U.S. House beyond 2026 may hinge upon a few races in Pennsylvania, an influential conservative organization has given grades to each incumbent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And a pair of Republicans in battleground districts received widely different scores.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heritage Action, the advocacy partner organization of the Heritage Foundation, released its Legislative Scorecard for the 119th Congress<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Scott Perry<\/a>, R-10th District, received a 96% grade, the highest score of any member in the state\u2019s congressional delegation. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick<\/a>, R-1st District, received a 23% score, which is the lowest grade of any Pennsylvania Republican and tied with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for the lowest among any Republican serving in either chamber.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Heritage Action Scorecard is the ultimate litmus test for whether conservatives in Congress\u202fare\u202fin alignment with their campaign\u202fpromises,\u201dsaid Kevin Roberts<\/a>, President of Heritage Action.<\/p>\n \u201cThe American people\u202felected\u202fmajority\u202fRepublican Congress\u202fwith\u202fclear\u202fexpectations\u2014this Scorecard\u202fshows,\u202fin no uncertain terms, lawmakers\u202fwho\u202fare\u202fmeeting those expectations\u202fand\u202fthose\u202fwho\u202fare falling short,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Roberts and the Heritage Foundation garnered headlines nationwide<\/a>\u00a0in the campaign ahead of the 2024 presidential election as a result of their \u201cProject 2025\u201d vision, which laid out a right-wing roadmap of legislative priorities for Donald Trump and Republicans after the election.<\/p>\n Trump attempted to distance himself<\/a> from the organization and the controversial 900-pages of policy reshaping government during the campaign, claiming he had \u201cnothing to do with Project 2025,\u201d although BBC<\/a>\u00a0reports that he nominated several of its authors to key government positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Heritage Action has issued 12 \u201ckey votes\u201d and eight \u201ckey co-sponsorships,\u201d marked in its scorecard, which includes how members voted on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, rescissions, the SAVE America Act, repealing COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies, and more.<\/p>\n Perry favored a significant majority of those proposals, while Fitzpatrick rejected most of those \u201ckey votes\u201d championed by the conservative organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite their vastly different scores, the two Republicans have one thing in common: closely watched re-election campaigns.<\/p>\n Perry, the former chairman of the conservative U.S. House Freedom Caucus seeking an eighth term in Congress, had his closest election in 2024 by defeating Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former central Pennsylvania television anchor, by 1.2 points.\u00a0<\/p>\n A rematch between Perry and Stelson may be on the horizon in 2026 for the 10th District and national ratings outlets, like the Cook Political Report<\/a>, describe the race as a \u201ctoss-up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the bipartisan U.S. House Problem Solvers Caucus, will be seeking a sixth term in Congress this fall. The 1st District, located in the suburbs north of Philadelphia, voted for Kamala Harris<\/a>\u00a0by a narrow margin in the 2024 presidential election, while sending Fitzpatrick back to Congress.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fitzpatrick is one of three Republicans nationwide, and the only in Pennsylvania, to represent a district Harris won over Trump in 2024. Inside Elections<\/a>, another national ratings outlet, describes the race in the 1st Congressional District as \u201cLean Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n A pair of freshman GOP lawmakers is also expected to be in competitive races in the fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n U.S. Reps. Rob Bresnahan, R-8th District, is seeking a second term representing northeast Pennsylvania, while Ryan Mackenzie, R-7th District, is hoping to win a second term for the Lehigh Valley based-seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mackenzie and Bresnahan both voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the rescissions package but against ending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Mackenzie has a 58% score<\/a>\u00a0from Heritage Action, while Bresnahan has a 46% grade<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Cook Political Report<\/a>\u00a0describes Mackenzie\u2019s race as a \u201ctoss-up,\u201d while Inside Elections<\/a>\u00a0rates Bresnahan\u2019s reelection bid as \u201ctilt Republican.\u201d<\/p>\n