Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie announces he's running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

Bob Harvie, chair of the Bucks County Commissioners, is running for Congress in hopes of unseating five-term Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in 2026.

Harvie, a commissioner since 2020, was a longtime public school teacher in Bucks County who made history when Democrats flipped the county board five years ago for the first time since 1983.

Now, he’ll try to oust the lone Republican representing Southeastern Pennsylvania in the U.S. House.

“I’ve learned a lot about loving my country and community, and I just don’t like the direction the country is going in,” Harvie said in an interview with The Inquirer. “I think a lot of people have that view, people on both sides frankly. I feel like there’s not enough leadership in Washington to fight for working-class people.”

Fitzpatrick, who has been reelected four times in his purple district, which includes all of Bucks and a sliver of Montgomery County, was one of just three Republicans in the nation to win a district that President Donald Trump lost in 2024. Trump narrowly won Bucks County.

Harvie has deep-seated ties to Bucks. His uncle was the mayor of Bristol. He is a former township supervisor in Falls Township where he taught high school history for 26 years. For several years, he also taught American History courses at Bucks County Community College.

“He’s a genuine public servant who spent years as a teacher and generally tries to make Bucks County a better place,” said former U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who has known Harvie since Murphy returned in 2004 to Bucks after serving in Iraq.

As county chair, Harvie said he has a platform from which to speak on federal funding cuts impacting residents as Trump makes sweeping governmental changes.

“At the county level, there’s a lot more direct connection to federal programming and federal funding,” he said, “whether emergency services or health department or development block grants. There’s a lot of concern in Southeastern Pennsylvania about what’s gonna happen when the budget gets passed.”

But Fitzpatrick has had a lock on the district since 2016, and if he runs for reelection — a likelihood given the war chest he recently reported in campaign finance reports — he’ll have served for a decade in Congress.

“He starts out from a strong position, there’s no question about that,” said State Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D., Bucks), who is also the county’s Democratic committee chair. “But if you have a good campaign and you start with a really good candidate, which Bob is, it makes it possible to win.”

An unexpected state Senate victory for Pennsylvania Democrats in Lancaster County last week and a statewide Supreme Court race win in Wisconsin on Tuesday have Democrats hoping that they can ride a wave of frustrations with Trump’s slash-and-burn attempts to reduce the size of government to victories next year.

The party in power has historically not fared well in midterm elections. Santarsiero said he also thinks Harvie will benefit from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s name on the ballot, given Shapiro’s popularity during his first term and strength in past statewide elections.

National Republican organizations were quick to defend Fitzpatrick’s record and blast Harvie.

A super PAC supporting Fitzpatrick, Defending America PAC, already had digital ads attacking Harvie up on YouTube the day Harvie announced.

“Bob Harvie is an embarrassment to himself and an embarrassment to us all. He’s a do-nothing partisan hack who has spent over two decades running for office while thumbing his nose at the middle class,” said Chris Pack, a spokesman for the PAC. “...We’re excited to hold Harvie accountable.”

Harvie enters the race already well-known by local elected Democrats and constituents. He has less work to do to introduce himself to the district than veteran Ashley Ehasz did in her two unsuccessful campaigns against Fitzpatrick.

While Ehasz focused a good portion of her campaign on abortion rights and anti-Trump messaging, Harvie said he’ll focus on economic issues.

“I’m not a hyper-partisan person. Most votes we take as county commissioners have been unanimous,” he said. “We recognize that government has to deliver … I think that resonates with people. They want to know you’re gonna work for them.”

Harvie said his pitch is also directed at kids who grew up in Bucks County, went away to college or the military, and now can’t afford a home there. “People are working harder than they feel like they should be at getting ahead, and I think there’s a feeling that avenue has closed, that there’s a lack of fairness,” he said.

“If you’re a good person who works hard, you should be able to take your kids on vacation, not worry about medical bills, or how to take care of your parents. Those are all things that aren’t being paid enough attention to.”

His criticism of Fitzpatrick was somewhat muted.

“I just feel like there hasn’t been enough leadership coming out when it comes to fighting for the things this district really needs,” he said.

Fitzpatrick did not respond to a request for comment.

As commissioner, Harvie helped lead Bucks County through the pandemic and two federal elections.

During the 2022 Senate race, he and the other Democrat on the board, Diane Ellis-Marseglia, were criticized by Republicans for voting to count undated or misdated mail ballots, a move that the state Supreme Court struck down that year.

Harvie said he stands by that vote. And a federal district court this week ruled that counties should not throw out such ballots as the issue continues to work its way through the judicial system.

“Courts are still unsure what to do with undated or misdated ballots,” Harvie said. “It’s all in flux but when it comes down to it, we want to do everything we can to make sure lawfully registered voters are able to vote.”

Fitzpatrick, whose late brother Mike Fitzpatrick had the House seat before him, has subtly shown where he disagrees with Trump in his second term, without directly challenging the president.

In recent months, Fitzpatrick has spoken out in support for Ukraine as Trump has insulted the country’s president. This week, Fitzpatrick signed onto a letter urging Trump to reconsider the move to end union protections for federal workers.

The soft-spoken former FBI agent largely avoids media and has not held publicly advertised town halls or events, to the chagrin of some constituents who protested his absence at a recent St. Patrick’s Day parade.

In campaigns, he’s largely ignored the fact that he even has a challenger and has avoided any debates or public campaign events.

But keeping his head down has worked. During the last election cycle, the Democratic Campaign Committee didn’t name Fitzpatrick’s race as one of its targets, opting to focus its money elsewhere.

“Out of touch Democrat Bob Harvie just entered the race to challenge Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in PA-01 – and Harvie doesn’t stand a chance," Maureen O’Toole, a spokesperson for the National Republican Campaign Committee, said.

Santarsiero said he expects that if Harvie can bank a significant amount of campaign cash upfront, Democrats from outside the county will kick in this year, along with super PACs on both sides. “At some point that money really equalizes, and it really will come down to who will do the best jobs representing their interests,” he said.

Fitzpatrick was voted the No. 1 most bipartisan member of Congress for a fifth year in a row last year by the apolitical Lugar Center at Georgetown University. The ratings are not based on votes, but how often members of Congress introduce bills that attract cosponsors from the other party, and how often they in turn cosponsor a bill introduced from across the aisle.

He cochairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and in recent months, appeared on cable news shows alongside Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York to talk about working across the aisle.

He reported more than $5 million cash on hand for the first quarter, a record for the district.

“We are one community — diverse in views, united in purpose,” Fitzpatrick recently said to Patch.com about his fundraising haul.

“This isn’t just a show of support,” he said. “It’s a call to action. Now more than ever, we must rise above the noise, reject the extremes, and come together to chart a path forward.”