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Bucks County<\/a> Commissioner Bob Harvie<\/a> 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<\/a> (R., Bucks) this fall.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, The Associated Press projected at 9:44 p.m.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania will play a crucial role in determining control of the House. Fitzpatrick\u2019s seat is one of four being targeted by both parties \u2014 along with the 7th, 8th, and 10th Districts. <\/p>\n Harvie was one of four congressional candidates in the state endorsed by Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n He used his speech as an opportunity to tie Fitzpatrick to President Donald Trump<\/a>, whose approval ratings have dropped sharply amid a spike in gas prices.<\/a> He accused Fitzpatrick of helping Trump\u2019s agenda \u2014 though Fitzpatrick has taken several votes against Trump, including last week when he voted to limit the president\u2019s war powers in Iran. <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe need people who are going to stand up to Donald Trump, not just stand aside,\u201d Harvie said. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re angry that this country that we love so much feels like it\u2019s 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,\u201d Shapiro said in his roughly 20-minute speech.<\/p>\n Shapiro\u2019s 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<\/a> when he\u2019ll also be on the ballot. <\/p>\n Democrats<\/a> are confident in Harvie\u2019s chances<\/a> to seriously challenge Fitzpatrick, given that he\u2019s the Republican lawmaker\u2019s first opponent to win a countywide office in purple Bucks. Allies have also talked up his affordability-focused messaging and his Bucks County roots.<\/p>\n But Fitzpatrick has proven himself formidable, consistently outperforming his party in the past five elections. He\u2019s the last remaining Republican member of Congress in the Philadelphia region \u2014 a feat likely achieved by his moderate stance on issues, name recognition, and ability to garner support among voters across party lines. <\/p>\n Pennsylvania Democrats are anticipating a blue wave this fall, but even that is something Fitzpatrick has survived before.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d said State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, chair of the Bucks County Democratic Party. <\/p>\n Democratic voters Tuesday were optimistic about Harvie\u2019s background and his ability to beat Fitzpatrick. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just a good person,\u201d said Kris Walski, 37, a real estate agent and former Pennsylvania House candidate who said he considers Harvie a friend. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel our chances are the strongest they\u2019ve ever been,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n But defeating Fitzpatrick remains a tall order in the famously swingy county. <\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just been there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n James Markley, executive director and spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Republican Party, said the GOP is \u201cconfident\u201d that voters will send Fitzpatrick back to Washington, D.C., to address rising costs, public safety issues, and \u201ctruly represent the people of his district.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cCongressman Brian Fitzpatrick has been a fantastic public servant for the people of Bucks County,\u201d Markley said. <\/p>\n 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\u2019s. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s never run against a candidate who has the roots in the county that I have… and he\u2019s not going to outwork me,\u201d Harvie said. <\/p>\n Bob Brooks wins Lehigh Valley race with Shapiro\u2019s backing<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 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,\u201d Brooks said in a news release after he secured the nomination. <\/p>\n Soraya Leon, 61, voted for Brooks in Allentown, citing his focus on economic issues and because he came \u201chighly recommended\u201d by Shapiro and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. <\/p>\n \u201cSalaries haven\u2019t gone up, but everything else has,\u201d she said in Spanish. \u201cWe have to think hard about how far we are willing to drive for things because of how expensive gas is.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s second election.<\/p>\n But even with a slew of endorsements and about $1 million in mostly union-funded ads boosting Brooks, the primary became increasingly heated.<\/p>\n Ryan Crosswell, a former Republican and federal prosecutor who resigned from Trump\u2019s Justice Department last year, surpassed Brooks in fundraising and ran television ads. <\/p>\n 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 \u2014 and it spurred national Democrats to jump in with their own ads supporting Brooks in the final days of the race.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But Brooks\u2019 working-class appeal ultimately won over voters who were worried about housing costs and other economic issues. <\/p>\n \u201cI believe he will work for me because he\u2019s not already a politician,\u201d said Betty Wimberly, a 73-year-old Allentown voter. \u201cThey haven\u2019t experienced what I\u2019ve experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n Stelson and Perry set for rematch in Harrisburg area<\/p>\n In the Harrisburg area, Democrat Janelle Stelson will face Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry<\/a> for a rematch in the fall after winning the primary Tuesday for another key Pennsylvania swing seat.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Stelson, a former broadcast journalist and former Republican, kept her primary campaign focused on defeating Perry<\/a>, just as she did when she won a crowded primary in 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n