House Republican fends off primary challenge in Pennsylvania swing district

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) has won the Republican primary in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District, according to Decision Desk HQ.  

Fitzpatrick fended off a primary challenge from anti-abortion activist Mark Houck.

Houck was indicted in September 2022 for allegedly assaulting a volunteer reproductive health care escort near a Planned Parenthood center, violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. 

Houck was later acquitted of those charges in January 2023.

Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District sits just north of Philadelphia and includes Buck and Montgomery counties. President Biden carried Fitzpatrick’s district in 2020 by more than 4.5 points. It was one of 16 districts that Biden won in 2020 but that also elected Republicans to the House, making it a closely watched battleground.

Fitzpatrick is next gearing up for a rematch against Democratic candidate Ashley Ehasz, a government and public service sector consultant, whom he beat last cycle by close to 10 points.  

The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates Fitzpatrick’s seat as “likely Republican.”