Incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick handily defeated his Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz in Tuesday’s election, earning him his fourth term in Congress.
Fitzpatrick won by 10 percent, and outperformed Republican election losers Dr. Mehmet Oz, who lost his U.S. Senate race to John Fetterman, and State Senator Doug Mastriano, who was defeated by Democrat Josh Shapiro in the governor’s race.
In Bucks County, Fitzpatrick received 169,506 (Ehasz 137,607), while Oz tallied 139,698, and Mastriano 121,621. In the small sliver of Montgomery County which completes Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District, Ehasz fared a little better, but still lost. Latest numbers show she received 25,239, compared to Fitzpatrick’s 29,739.
Fitzpatrick enjoyed a huge fundraising advantage, spending over $3 million compared to Ehasz’s $800,000 – a hurdle that the Democrat couldn’t overcome.
“The re-election of Brian Fitzpatrick, and the level of split-ticketing we continue to see, is a disappointment. It points to a need for us to communicate more effectively with the Democrats and Independents who continue to support him,” said Kierstyn Zolfo of Indivisible Bucks County, who also writes a column for the Bucks County Beacon. “But it appears that we improved on our 2020 Congressional numbers, and that shows that this seat is still flippable if we can show those voters that the media-version of Fitzpatrick they continue to support is not the real Fitzpatrick who votes in Washington.”
Democrats will have another uphill, if not insurmountable battle if they can’t provide their candidate with a comparable election-spending war chest.
