Incumbent US Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick defeats Mark Houck in GOP primary for Pennsylvania's 1st District

PHILADELPHIA — Incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a moderate Republican, staved off a challenge from the right to win his party’s nomination to retain his suburban district.

Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent who has represented Bucks County in the U.S. House since 2017, beat anti-abortion activist Mark Houck on Tuesday in the GOP primary for the 1st Congressional District. The Associated Press declared Fitzpatrick the winner at 8:13 p.m. Eastern time.

Framing himself as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress, Fitzpatrick has joined Democrats in key votes on gun control and infrastructure since President Joe Biden took office. But he also voted to impeach Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

Fitzpatrick ran a low-key campaign that avoided national and local media, declining to say whether he would attend former President Donald Trump’s fundraiser in Bucks County just over a week before the primary.

Fitzpatrick now faces a rematch against Democrat Ashley Ehasz, a former military helicopter pilot.

Ehasz lost to Fitzpatrick by nearly 10 points in 2022. She launched a new campaign last year signaling she would, once again, focus her campaign around abortion, gun control and climate change.

After the race was called the National Republican Congressional Committee was quick to declare victory in November’s general election, noting that efforts from Democrats to help Houck failed.

“Their lame attempt to prop up a serial liar failed miserably and showed just how desperate they are to force their extreme values on Pennsylvania voters.

Houck had sought to capitalize on frustrations among local Republicans that Fitzpatrick is not conservative enough. He rose to prominence when he was charged, and later acquitted, for shoving a Planned Parenthood escort in 2021.

But Houck ran into barriers among voters who liked his policy positions but worried his hardline stances, especially on abortion, would damage his ability to win in a general election.

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