Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick will serve a third term representing the First Congressional District.
While county election officials were continuing count ballots as of Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press called the race for Fitzpatrick at 3:23 p.m. (Read how the AP calls races)
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Unofficial election data from the county showed Fitzpatrick with 60.8 percent of the vote and Democratic challenger Christina Finello had 38.9 percent as of 3:30 p.m.
The Republican congressman, a former FBI special agent who lives in Middletown Township, has framed himself as a moderate who is independent. He often has touted his work with the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
During a recent interview with this news organization, Fitzpatrick said the Right to Try law, the Great American Outdoors Act, the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, the INTERDICT Act, and the legislation that led to approval of establishing a national museum dedicated to women’s history were his proudest accomplishments during his time in office.
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The Fitzpatrick brand has strong recognition in Bucks County. The congressman’s late brother served the area for years.
Finello, the former deputy human services director for Bucks County and an Ivyland Borough council person, worked to connect Fitzpatrick with Trump and his Republican allies over the course of the campaign. Her campaign narrowed their message on Republicans’ handling of COVID-19, health care, and the economy.
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Finello battled low name recognition within the district, limited support early on, and campaigning in the age of COVID-19. She also struggled to fundraise during the first months of her campaign.
In the final weeks of the election, the race appeared to get more competitive as Finello reported raising just less than $940,000 compared to Fitzpatrick’s nearly $945,000.
On Monday, Politico moved the race from lean Republican to a toss up.
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Ali Anderson, who led Finello’s effort to win election, said the campaign had gained a “groundswell of momentum” recently.
Democrats nationally seemed to focus less on the First Congressional District than in past years.
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Many Democratic leaders had not expected Finello to be nominee when she entered the race last year, but after two other challengers dropped out, Finello became the frontrunner for Democrats. Finello defeated progressive challenger Skylar Hurwitz in the primary.
Fitzpatrick didn’t just face a challenge from Democrats, but his defeated primary opponent Andrew Meehan continued to urge Trump-supporting Republicans to not vote for the congressman because the former candidate believes the congressman is not loyal enough to the president.
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