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A Delaware County resident has pulled out from the First Congressional District Republican primary election.
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Dasha Pruett, a resident of the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby Township, withdrew her candidacy Tuesday, according to a filing with the Pennsylvania Department of State.
Pruett’s campaign Facebook page was removed as of Tuesday night.
The First Congressional District covers all of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County.
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Pruett’s withdraw and Upper Bucks County resident Bradley Lanning’s announcement last week that he was ending his campaign leaves only Northampton Township resident Alex Entin and Bristol Township resident Caroline Avery in the GOP primary against incumbent Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, of Middletown Township.
Last week, this news organization reported there was a discussion between the four Republicans challenging Fitzpatrick that they would leave the race so the candidate who received most petition signatures would be in a stronger position to challenge the incumbent.
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Entin received the most signatures, according to state records.
“I did agree along with the 3 other candidates to cede the race to the person with the most petition signatures, as we did not want to split the anti-Fitzpatrick vote. Therefore, as one who has been saved and redeemed by Jesus Christ, I have no choice but to honor God by being true to my word,” Lanning wrote when he dropped out.
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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Pruett, who was an immigrant from the U.S.S.R., ran in her home district in 2020 and lost to Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon.
Due to the 2020 loss, Pruett decided Bucks County was a district where she had a better shot in the 2022 cycle and ran here, according to statements made by Pruett and her husband.
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Pruett’s father is a Lower Southampton Township resident.
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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All the other former and current candidates for Congress – Democrats and Republicans – have lived in the First Congressional District.
On the Democratic side, Bensalem Township U.S. Army veteran Ashley Ehasz remains the lone candidate from her party in the race. Her challenger – Lower Makefield Township U.S. Navy veteran Paul Fermo – dropped out recently.
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