Brian Fitzpatrick easily wins GOP primary against Mark Houck; will face Ehasz again in fall
Incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick easily fended off a primary challenge Tuesday in a race in Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District that was called less than an hour after polls closed.
Fitzpatrick faced off against anti-abortion activist Mark Houck, a first-time political challenger from East Greenville Borough, Montgomery County, on Tuesday in a race that had been viewed as a test for how important abortion could be the November election.
Fitpatrick garnered 39,129 votes, or 62 percent, over Houck's 22,949 in Bucks County, which makes up most of the district. Fitzpatrick picked up another 5,635 in Montgomery County over Houck's 5,132 votes there. Democrat Ashley Ehasz ran unopposed for her party's nomination and got 58,364 votes in Bucks and 9,196 in Montgomery County.
All results are unofficial.
Fitzpatrick and Ehasz will faceoff in November in a rematch of their race two years ago, where the incumbent bested the newcomer taking about 55 percent of the vote, or 171,655 votes in Bucks County, to keep the seat for the GOP.
A former FBI agent, Fitzpatrick has cast himself as a moderate Republican over the years, with his current campaign promising to bring “independent leadership” to solve issues like opioid and fentanyl overdoses, government spending and healthcare reform.
The Middletown lawmaker has faced a challenger every election since he first ran in 2016, after his brother former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick died following a second bout with cancer.
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Taking an average of 65% of the vote over four past primary races and winning against each Democratic challenge in the following election has made Fitzpatrick a difficult opponent to unseat for both progressive and conservative challengers.
Houck ran on a limited-government platform aimed at “restoring faith, family and freedom” if elected, using his 2022 arrest and later acquittal of charges related to an incident outside a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood as an example of the government persecuting conservative values.
Authorities allege Houck twice shoved a 72-year-old volunteer, once as he was escorting two patients leaving the facility and shoving him again in confrontation that resulted in medical assistance for the volunteer and two charges in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance Act.
Houck was acquitted by a jury after saying he acted in defense of his 12-year-old son, who Houck said was being followed and shouted obscenities at by the volunteer escort.
The story of Houck’s arrest, which included claims that a “heavily armed” “SWAT team” nearly broke his door down and five agents pointed guns at his head, have been refuted by federal officials and a pivotal reason behind his choice to run.
Brian Fitzpatrick has commanding funding lead
While Republican strategist Sam Chen, of Allentown-based communications firm the Liddle Group, said he doesn’t believe money can buy elections, Houck’s funding numbers didn’t bode well compared to Fitzpatrick’s ahead of Tuesday's primary.
Fitzpatrick’s campaign has held a commanding lead out of any candidate running for the district, with over $4.18 million raised and almost $2 million spent this campaign cycle.
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Almost 30% of Fitzpatrick’s spending since January, or $374,250, has been for “strategic campaign consulting” and another $342,820 has been used for “advertising,” according to data from the Federal Election Commission.
Houck has raised about $156,265 and spent just $145,185 to have about a little over $11,000 cash-on-hand to continue his run for office if he wins on Tuesday.
Houck has spent about $15,709 on consulting this year, with about as much used for “printing” and “rent,” according to the campaign finance data. Houck has spent less than $7,000 on “radio ads” and direct mailers this year.
“At the end of the day, money doesn’t buy elections, but you still need money to get your message out there,” Chen said earlier this week.
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While Chen noted that Houck’s political origin story revolving around a hot button issue like abortion might make him a bigger primary threat to Fitzpatrick compared to previous races, Tuesday’s outcome might have depended on how effectively Houck connected with Bucks County’s GOP.
“It would have been a better thing if he had more money, but I just don't know if that little bit of cash is going to help him much with that story. That gives him a built-in advantage, I just don't know if he's taking advantage of it,” Chen said.
Looking to November rematch of Fitzpatrick and Ehasz
With less than a week before the primary, Ehasz, a U.S. Army veteran running her second consecutive campaign to replace Fitzpatrick, saw her single best fundraising quarter in either of her two election bids with $662,647 raised between Jan. 1 and April 3, according to Federal Election Commission data.
The same day that the reporting period ended, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) included Pennsylvania’s 1st and 10th Congressional districts among its list of 31 “vulnerable Republican districts … key to winning a Democratic House majority.”
"Voters are tired of a two-faced politician who has spent his recent time in Congress defending Donald Trump and trying to control women’s bodies, and are ready to elect (Ehasz)," A Tuesday night DCCC news release adds.
Chen said that, between the funding boost, burgeoning national attention and running in a presidential election cycle, Ehasz's campaign seems to be building up steam.
“I do think the momentum is real,” Chen said. “And I think part of it is that (Ehasz is) running in a presidential cycle as opposed to in a midterm cycle, and so there's a little bit more attention paid, a little bit more excitement.”
Ehasz’s most recent funding bump has put her total raised to $1.37 million, with about $802,363 cash-on-hand after spending about $563,000 so far.
Over the past year, Ehasz’s campaign had managed to raise between $214,000 and $249,000 every three months, totaling roughly $709,058 with about $333,491 cash-on-hand by the end of year.
The April contributions nearly doubled her 2024 campaign totals, which is the 8th highest amount for a Democrat running for U.S. House or Senate. Sen. Bob Casey takes the top spot with over $17 million in his re-election bid.
Chris Ullery is the Philadelphia Hub Data Reporter for the USA Today Network. Reach him at cullery@couriertimes.com or find him on Twitter at @ulleryatinell.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Brian Fitzpatrick fends off, Mark Houck in PA-01 GOP bid
