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New controversies concerning the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and foreign lobbying aren’t steering Democrats away from their focus on affordability in the final three weeks before the midterms.
“Billionaires are better off, but certainly the average people living here in Bucks County are not, and so people are tired of it,” said Bob Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner running to unseat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., in one of the swingiest districts in the country.
Harvie is trying to link Fitzpatrick to Trump and national Republicans, though the incumbent has maintained an independent streak in Congress, including by voting against Republicans’ domestic policy megabill.
Following last week’s ICE shooting in New York, Harvie said, “what people see is a government that really is run through chaos, which is what Donald Trump specializes in, and Brian Fitzpatrick sits and watches it happen.”
Fitzpatrick’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
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Democrats have previously come up short in trying to defeat Fitzpatrick, who is one of the few House Republicans representing a district won by Kamala Harris in 2024. But Democrats hope national headwinds against Republicans will flip the seat; they also see Harvie as having a key advantage, given he’s better funded than previous challengers and can draft off support for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“I think there are definitely people who are tired of Fitzpatrick’s act. They realize that you know he’s not independent,” said Harvie. “He basically does what Donald Trump needs him to do.”
In a show of support from party leadership, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared with Harvie over the weekend. Harvie said he’d support Jeffries for speaker next year: “I’m looking forward to having somebody in the leadership role for this party who’s going to move us forward and focus on the issues that matter to people.”