June 24, 2024, 5:26 p.m.
WARMINSTER, Pa.—Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick has managed to defy political gravity since his election in 2016. He survived a blue wave in 2018 and has given Democrats major headaches ever since, even as his district continues to vote blue further up the ticket.
Democrats say this time will be different, pointing to a renewed focus on abortion-access fights after the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. On Saturday morning at the local VFW, community members—all of whom seemed to know each other—were fired up as they gathered to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision with Democrat Ashley Ehasz.
Ehasz, joined by local Democratic leaders, hosted an abortion-rights roundtable discussion ahead of the two-year anniversary of the landmark decision. The discussion occurred just feet away from a Planned Parenthood set to close this week.
“It's really a tragedy that the Dobbs decision put Planned Parenthood abortion centers across the country in jeopardy,” former CEO of Planned Parenthood Associates of Bucks County Linda Hahn said during the discussion. Hahn helped open the clinic two decades ago. The pending closure leaves just one Planned Parenthood in Pennsylvania's fourth most populous county.
Ehasz, who challenged Fitzpatrick two years ago, is running again. She’s campaigning on her full-throated support of abortion rights. The incumbent is one of 16 Republicans in a blue-leaning seat, and he continues to win despite the top-of-the-ticket headwinds.
But Ehasz and her Democratic allies in Bucks County and the Beltway are more confident this time around.
“The big difference between 2022 and 2024 is we know that voters—when abortion rights are on the ballot—will come out,” Ehasz told National Journal during an afternoon of door-knocking. “We know that Brian Fitzpatrick is an anti-choice individual, so the key for us is making sure voters know his votes.”
Donning a Philadelphia Phillies cap and West Point polo in the scorching heat, Ehasz introduced herself at the doors as an Army veteran and “the only pro-choice candidate in the race.” Many houses leave “No solicitations” signs on their doors, the mark of frequent canvassers in a critical swing county.
Her 13 years in the Army are crucial to her identity as a candidate. At the forum Saturday, Ehasz leaned into her service and described how abortion restrictions particularly affect the military.
“We took the same oath, and that oath is not to a person or a party; it is to the Constitution,” Ehasz said to the group of supporters. She’s hoping her biography as a servicewoman will help appeal to the swing voters in the purple district.
Many of her conversations don’t hit on abortion rights, despite leading with the issue to begin the conversation. One voter discusses affordability. Another wants to know about opportunities for independent-minded candidates.
Ehasz met one particular voter, 39-year-old Laura Jenkins, while she filled her car tires with air. After a brief shouted conversation over the hum of the compressor, Ehasz went to the next door. A few minutes later, Jenkins followed her down the street to learn more.
“It’s refreshing to see someone with similar ideas,” said Jenkins, adding that she was “frustrated with the status quo.” She said she works two jobs and is looking for a third to support her kids amidst a divorce. Ehasz told her she’s running against “extremism,” and that this seat is one of the most critical to a Democratic House majority.
Fitzpatrick defeated Ehasz by 10 points in 2022, but there’s once again renewed interest in knocking off Democrats’ Mid-Atlantic white whale. Fitzpatrick manages to steer clear of the far-right noise in his conference and keeps his distance from former President Trump.
“We know we need to inform voters on his bad votes on choice, and so having the resources to communicate that message is incredibly important,” Ehasz told National Journal. She received less than $300,000 in outside help last time and none from the major committees.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
She might have the resources this time around. House Majority PAC, House Democrats’ main super PAC, placed $5.7 million in initial ad reservations in Philadelphia. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which released its first round of buys last week, placed nearly $280,000. The spending could potentially give Ehasz much needed air cover while also defending Rep. Susan Wild—who will likely see the bulk of that investment—to the northwest.
Doylestown Democratic Committee Chair Connor O'Hanlon noted the need for financial resources.
“The overwhelming majority of people here in Bucks County believe that women should have that right to choose,” O'Hanlon told National Journal following the roundtable. “So it’s really about getting the message out more than what the message is, because people agree with Ashley’s message.”
Ehasz and Democrats are particularly emboldened by a May DCCC poll that showed her leading Fitzpatrick by 7 points after respondents were informed of “Fitzpatrick’s obsession with restricting women’s reproductive freedom.” Though the survey is not necessarily an accurate representation of the race, the result has the Democratic candidate feeling confident.
“What we’re seeing manifesting right here in Bucks County with the degradation of reproductive health care is the reality of this GOP majority and their bad, bad policies.”
The Fitzpatrick camp pushed back on Ehasz’s criticisms, calling them a “blatant lie.” Campaign spokeswoman Nancy McCarty said “Fitzpatrick has long been on record supporting current Pennsylvania abortion law, which allows abortion to be legal throughout the first 24 weeks of pregnancy,” and that “Ehasz's repeated lies and fear-mongering will get her exactly where it got her in her failed 2022 campaign—with an embarrassing landslide electoral defeat."
It’s an uphill battle for Democrats, undoubtedly, in this perennial swing district. The Fitzpatrick name remains popular—his late brother previously represented the seat—and the former FBI agent is sitting on a mountain of cash.
But as the Planned Parenthood just steps away from Saturday’s gathering prepares to close, Ehasz says voters will see the challenges to abortion access “tangibly in their front yard or across the street.”
“This will devastate voters here, and they’ll see it,” she said.
“And at the end of the day that will motivate people to come out and vote pro-choice.”
