UPDATED: Fitzpatrick Wins Another Term In Congress

UPDATED: 8:12 a.m., Wednesday:

Republican Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick was elected Tuesday to his self-declared final term in the United State House of Representatives.

Fitzpatrick, a Levittown resident, was greeted with cheers when he entered the Bucks County Republican Party headquarters in Doylestown along with his family just minutes after Democratic competitor Kevin Strouse conceded the election from his Bristol Borough office around 10 p.m.

Fitzpatrick said that Bucks County’s voting sent a clear message to Washington.

“I think they hear us loud and clear on what needs to happen here, so you’ve returned me for another two years, my last two years as a member of the United States Congress,” he said. “Even better you’ve returned me with a new United States Senate so we’re going to get some things done here.”

Prior to the congressman’s arrival, Republican constituents ate, greeted one another and spoke of the impending victory of incumbent Fitzpatrick.

“We’re committed to doing this one last time, and there still a lot of work to be done in the United States Congress. I think I still have a lot to add and a lot of work to do on your behalf, a lot of good work,” he said.

The mood at Strouse’s campaign headquarters started jovially but quickly took a turn.

“It’s out of our hands. It’s just a matter of time and letting the votes come in,” Strouse told LevittownNow.com before the first results came in.

Just moments after the Associated Press called the election for Fitzpatrick, Strouse and his top campaign official came out to speak to the crowd.

“It pains me to do it, but I wanted to make sure you all hear it first,” Strouse said as he conceded. “I didn’t get into this for the politics, I don’t care about the politics. It’s about country first and I think you all demonstrated that that is what we care about.”

“We did everything we could possibly do, you can’t ask for anything more from the team,” Strouse continued. “I believe in our system, I believe in service.”

The Strouse campaign worked to get out voters throughout the district and had volunteers in the field and working the phones up until the polls closed on Tuesday night.

Strouse said he plans to stay involved. “We’ll figure out the next step,” he said

Despite ‘Fitz’ Fibs’ and the efforts of the Kevin Strouse campaign, Fitzpatrick did not acknowledge the Strouse campaign during Tuesday’s festivities rarely during the campaign.

Fitzpatrick campaigned with a message that he was moderate Republican who worked in the best interest of Bucks County residents.

“We stand for a smart government that spends less on taxes and actually performs more, provides more value for your tax dollars back to the American people,” Fitzpatrick said.

The congressman will be sworn in for his next term in January 2015.

Original Story:

The voters of Bucks County are sending Republican Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick of Levittown back to Washington D.C.

The Associated Press called the race in Fitzpatrick’s favor just before 10 p.m. Tuesday. Moments later, Kevin Strouse, Fitzpatrick’s Democratic challenger, announced to a crowd gathered at his Bristol Borough campaign office that he was conceding the race.

Fitzpatrick was greeted with cheers at the Bucks County Republican Party headquarters in Doylestown around 10:15 p.m.

With nearly 50 percent of the votes counted at 10:15 p.m., Fitzpatrick lead the race by more than 25 percent.

Strouse’s campaign office was filed with loyal supporters who have knocked on thousands of homes in the Eighth Congressional District in the past several months. According to a campaign tweet, supporters were working to get out the vote up until the very last moments of Tuesday’s election.

Fitzpatrick has indicated that this will be his last term as a congressman.

This story will be updated with more information as the night progresses.