Credit: Submitted
A resident of Delaware County has formally entered the race for the First Congressional District, which covers all of Bucks County and a small portion of Montgomery County.
At an event at an eatery and bar in Doylestown Borough Wednesday evening, Republican Dasha Pruett announced she was running in the GOP primary in the First Congressional District.
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In 2020, Pruett ran and lost to Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon in the Fifth Congressional District.
In a statement of candidacy filed this week with the Federal Election Commission, Pruett said she lived in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby Township, which sits in Delaware County. She listed her campaign address as being at the post office in Lower Southampton, a change from her last campaign’s mailing address in Havertown in Delaware County.
Pruett’s listed residence sits about 20 miles away from the First Congressional District, but she said Friday she intends to stay with her father at his home in Feasterville.
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“I will be pretty much living in my dad’s home in Feasterville since the commute is insane, though I did not want to deceit anyone and claim it as my residence. It was more important to file then focus on the address,” she said.
Pruett resides in the Fifth Congressional District. It covers all of Delaware County and parts of Chester, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.
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In a past interview, Pruett said she would consider moving to the First Congressional District if she ran.
All of Pruett’s Republican opponents live in Bucks County. The two Democrats running in their party’s primary for Congress reside in the county. The Green Party candidate lives in the district, but in Montgomery County.
While uncommon in recent local congressional races, Pruett is not legally barred from living outside the district she is running in. The U.S. Constitution and election laws do not require candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives to live in the district they aim to represent. The Constitution requires a representative be at least 25 years old and an American citizen for at least seven years. In 2017, the Washington Post reported at least 20 members of the U.S. House of Representatives lived outside their districts, often due to redistricting.
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“The U.S. Congress deals with issues on a national level. I will not only represent people in Bucks County, but people in DELCO, MONTCO, PHILLY, CHESCO and every county in every state,” Pruett said Friday morning.
Pruett noted incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, who was born and raised in Middletown Township, resided in California while serving as an FBI special agent.
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“People move. I moved 30 times, lived in five countries, two states, and five counties, by no fault of my own. Hillary Clinton did not live in her state to run for Senate, neither does Dr. Oz, and so many more,” she stated.
The residency of Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Pennsylvania Mehmet Oz, a doctor famous for having a syndicated TV talk show, has been questioned in recent weeks. While he said he is living in the Keystone State, it has appeared he has spent much of his time leading up to his campaign at his posh residence in northern New Jersey.
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Some Republicans have raised ire on social media about Pruett’s residency.
Pruett said she believes “constituents can look at a bigger picture, or be concerned with whose fence we share.”
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“We can focus on issues and platforms or my address. This is the problem we have, we focus on cupcakes, not substance,” she said.
Pruett’s platform is based on “pro-capitalism” and “anti-socialism,” low taxes, fair trade, cutting regulations to allow for job growth, ending government funding to Planned Parenthood, a fetal heartbeat bill, fighting drug addiction, and protecting the Second Amendment. She has proudly supported former President Donald Trump.
Pruett, a mother and wife who immigrated to America as a child from the USSR, has said she believes Fitzpatrick doesn’t properly represent her Republican values.
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Fitzpatrick’s primary opponents have criticized his positioning as a more moderate Republican.
The congressman did not vote for Trump in 2016, but he stated he cast his ballot for him last year and received an endorsement from Trump in the final days of the 2020 election. Fitzpatrick said Trump should be censured but not impeached after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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Fitzpatrick, a resident of Middletown Township, has bested primary competitors over his past three elections.
Bristol Township resident Caroline Avery and Upper Bucks County resident Bradley Lanning are already in the running for the Republican primary. Another Republican is set to announce his campaign soon.
Bensalem Township U.S. Army veteran Ashley Ehasz and Lower Makefield Township U.S. Navy veteran Paul Fermo are running in the 2022 Democratic primary.
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