In an effort to meet constituents across Pennsylvania’s solidly purple First Congressional District, Bucks County Commissioner and Democratic challenger Bob Harvie will hold a campaign town hall event on Wednesday.
This grassroots approach is in sharp contrast to incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who has not held a public, in-person town hall in years and even refused to debate his opponent in 2024. Harvie is running to oust Fitzpatrick in the 2026 midterm elections.
“My campaign is going to be relentlessly focused on affordability and holding Fitzpatrick accountable for abandoning Bucks and Montgomery families,” said Bob Harvie, a Bucks County Commissioner and P-01 congressional candidate in an email.
Harvie’s fourth town hall will be held in Doylestown on November 12; from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The location address is provided with an RSVP to attend.
“Brian Fitzpatrick hasn’t done an in-person town hall in over eight years. I’ve done town halls in Bristol Township, Horsham, Richlandtown Borough and now in Doylestown Borough. I enjoy doing town halls, and I believe it is the job of elected officials to listen to the needs of our constituents, regardless of party, to better deliver real results for working families,” Harvie said.
PA’s first congressional district is made up of all of Bucks County and a small sliver of neighboring Montgomery County.
Fitzpatrick first ran and was elected in 2016 after his late brother Michael, who held the seat before him, decided not to seek re-election.
Polling last month shows Harvie and Fitzpatrick locked in a tied race, 41% – 41%. And Tuesday’s election and Blue Wave in the county and across the country suggests Fitzpatrick might be vulnerable.
Harvie, who is chairman of the board of Bucks County Commissioners, was elected commissioner in 2020. He announced his run against Fitzpatrick in April. A former Falls Township supervisor, Harvie was a high school Social Studies teacher locally prior to becoming involved in county politics.
In September, Harvie called out Fitzpatrick for failing to protect health care for his constituents, along with millions of Americans across the country.
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“Bucks and Montgomery [county] families are opening letters right now warning them their health care premiums are about to skyrocket, and Brian Fitzpatrick is squarely to blame,” said Harvie at the time.
Now that the Senate is set to pass Trump and the GOP’s budget without extending expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, those health care costs for many will indeed spike.
On November 4, Bucks County voters flipped all five county row offices from Republican to Democratic in a Blue Wave that mirrored similar contest outcomes across the country.
“Last night (November 4) was a historic night for Democrats in Bucks County and across the country. There is undeniable hunger for change in Bucks County. What’s clear now is that Democrats have the momentum heading into 2026 and Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s days in Congress are numbered,” Harvie said in a statement after election results were released.
