Bucks County GOP, Democratic Chairs Talk Republican Victories

Bucks County Republicans made big moves in Tuesday’s election, sweeping the open county row offices and winning the open county judge seat and many municipal and school board races.

The move fights back against Democratic gains in Bucks County, even though Democrats have a roughly 10,000 voter advantage.

Bucks County is known nationally as a moderate county and results have confirmed that in recent years. Former President Donald Trump lost twice, Democrats Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton won, Republican Brian Fitzpatrick has won three times, and it’s not uncommon for local seats to switch back and forth between parties.

Bucks County Republican Committee Chairperson Pat Poprik said in an interview with LevittownNow.com that she was pleased with Tuesday’s results that bucked recent trends which have seen Philadelphia’s collar counties turning more blue.

Poprik said candidates and campaign volunteers and staffers were out every weekend starting in summer at events and knocking on doors.

“I can tell you we worked hard,” she said. “We put energy in like this was the presidential race.”

“We knew we needed to start turning the screw back.”

Poprik acknowledged the county party did get motivation from their recent losses, especially of row offices and the county commissioners majority, but there was also new enthusiasm throughout the party due to national issues and Republicans losing the majority in Washington D.C.

“You always learn when you lose,” she said.

She noted former President Donald Trump, who motivated many Democrats and even some Republicans who disliked him to get out and vote, is out of office. Now, Democrats hold many levers of power and Republicans, in many cases, are not happy with their leadership.

Poprik said Republicans in Bucks County didn’t focus on Biden specifically this election year, but they focused on Democrats’ policies and ones they feel contributed to current issues. She said inflation and other national issues with local roots, like education, drove voters.

“Saying Biden is bad doesn’t work – he seems like a nice older man – but mentions of inflation and things voters can relate to does work,” she explained.

John Cordisco, chairperson of the Bucks County Democratic Committee, agreed with Poprik’s assessment that national issues made a big impact on loses for Democratic candidates.

Cordisco said county Democrats knocked more doors and raised more funds this year than in 2019, the last municipal election.

“You look at it as ‘what could we have done differently?’” he said. “It becomes quiet apparent that national issues came into play.”

Cordisco said he heard a story about a Democrat in Lower Bucks County who said they voted for Republican candidates because they were upset about national issues.

“They couldn’t even name the candidates, but they voted for them,” he said.

Cordisco, an attorney who was in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 1980s and has been involved in politics for most of his adult life, said he has never seen national issues and anger over the previous general election loss carry over to such an extent to local elections.

“You’re subject to something that’s beyond your control,” he said.

A letter from Democratic Bucks County Commissioners Diane Ellis-Marseglia and Bob Harvie chalked up the election outcome to national politics.

“It’s evident that the voters have sent a message about something other than their lives in Bucks County, reacting to a volatile national climate and the ugly political game playing out in Washington D.C.,” they wrote.

Poprik said Republicans noticed opportunity last year when they flipped a Central Bucks County state representatives seat back to red.

To capitalize on that hint, the county Republicans stepped up efforts to register new voters and cultivate volunteers.

Poprik said she’s used to seeing 35 or 40 people at volunteer training, but there was a notable uptick this year. She said some had 45 people in-person and nearly 50 others joining via Zoom.

The increase in volunteers assisted the party as they knocked doors.

“We expanded the door knocking and local candidates did tons,” she said.

Instead of collecting names for volunteers for election day and waiting until September for outreach, the party worked to get in touch with those people right away, Poprik stated.

The Republicans’ stepped up efforts to connect with volunteers and voters mirrored a similar undertaking in recent years by Bucks County Democrats.

“People like the interaction. They like to feel important, because they definitely are,” Poprik said.

Cordisco complimented the efforts of his team, but he said the party needs to take a look at what happened in 2021 to plan for the 2022 and 2023 elections.

Despite their wins, Poprik said the Republicans will also look at lessons learned in the recent election as they build their strategy going forward.

“We have people already asking what they can do for next year,” she said with a laugh. “But I think we need a few days.”

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