A GOP congressman in a swing district faces angry voters: ‘I’m against the party that caused this’

By Annie Grayer, CNN

QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA (CNN) — GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was weaving through the crowd of a fall street festival when he was confronted by a man enraged by the skyrocketing costs he’s experiencing.

Dave Woods, a contractor and registered Democrat, held up red signs with big white letters in Fitzpatrick’s face to show how his heating oil and diesel fuel costs have shot up in the last year. But Fitzpatrick walked away to head to his speech.

“Where’s Mr. Fitzpatrick to get in the photo shot here?” Woods told CNN after the exchange. “I’m against the party that caused this.”

Farther down the street, Ted Wassmer, a registered Republican who has supported the congressman in the past, was weighing his vote in the November election. Wassmer’s woodworking business has been hit hard by the Trump administration’s tariffs and rising inflation. A combat veteran who has never supported President Donald Trump, Wassmer called the Iran war an “absolute joke.”

“It’s a clown show in DC right now,” Wassmer said. “I may vote against Republicans having dominance of the Congress, that may be my decision to get the administration in check. And I’m not very happy with Democrats either. I kind of think the left and the right are running rampant right now, so I have to kind of really look at it.”

Fitzpatrick is one of the only Republicans in Congress fighting for reelection in a district Kamala Harris won in 2024 — and Democrats see this as their best chance in a decade to win the seat.

Following the congressman on a recent day of campaigning offered an inside look at how the vulnerable Republican is trying to hold onto his battleground district in the suburbs of Philadelphia despite a toxic political environment for his party. Woods was not the only frustrated voter to come up to the congressman with complaints. But Fitzpatrick believes he can keep his seat by distancing himself from his own party and attempting to find common ground.

“If they’re angry at Pete Hegseth, take it out on Pete Hegseth. If they’re angry at Donald Trump or Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, take it out on them at the ballot box, but don’t take it out on people that are not them that have never espoused their views,” Fitzpatrick told CNN in a wide-ranging interview.

Describing himself as politically homeless in the two-party system, Fitzpatrick says he would register as an independent if Pennsylvania opens its primaries to independent voters and lowers the threshold for independent candidates to get on the ballot.

“I’m a registered Republican from when I was 18, but I did that because of Ronald Reagan. That party no longer exists,” Fitzpatrick said.

But Democrats plan to use his party affiliation against him. Nationally, Democrats have become increasingly confident they will win the House, hoping that voter concerns over the status quo will lead to losses for Republicans. A new CNN poll found Trump’s approval rating stands at a record low, and voters express broad dissatisfaction with the economy and the state of the country nearly two years into unified GOP control of the federal government.

Fitzpatrick’s Democratic challenger, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, hopes to tap into voter frustration and reluctance to support the Republican ticket to flip the district and bring his party one step closer to reclaiming the House majority.

“He’s changed. He’s not the same guy he was when we sent him there. You know, he’s a guy that was supposed to fight against corruption as a former FBI agent, and this is the most corrupt administration in American history. And he’s not doing anything about it,” Harvie told CNN. “He hasn’t stood up for the people here, and plus we’ve got the mood of this country and the pain that people are feeling is different than anything that’s happened before.”

Fitzpatrick has withstood national headwinds before, including the blue wave of 2018 when Democrats flipped the House. Democrats believe, however, that his attempts to distance himself from his party now might not be enough to overcome the palpable anger of many of his constituents, and are investing millions in this race for the first time in six years as a result. Democrats have spent over $10 million in advertisements since September, according to AdImpact. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has also invested heavily in the race and has appeared with Harvie on the campaign trail.

Democrats knew going into the final stretch that Bucks County voters have a history of making their decisions late in the game, which is in part why national Democratic groups started ramping up their spending in the district in the final weeks, according to a Democratic strategist working on House races.

To defend against the influx of Democratic cash, the Republican fundraising apparatus has parachuted in, including $100,000 from super PAC MAGA Inc., according to Federal Election Commission filings, and $4.9 million from the Republican outside campaign arm earlier this month for advertisements. In a sign of how difficult the race has become, Fitzpatrick spent $5 million of his own war chest between July and September.

“They take their shots when the climate is such that they think that, you know, that it’s a wise investment for them,” Fitzpatrick said of Democrats. “So, they think.”

The two candidates have not faced off directly to debate, even though both have made offers. Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, has claimed Harvie has been the subject of an FBI investigation, while Harvie says he never was and argues Fitzpatrick is trying to recycle old claims.

But all of the mudslinging on television and posturing online hasn’t necessarily translated to real life. On Saturday, when the two candidates had a chance encounter as they both waited to speak at an event in Bristol, they ignored each other.

Breaking down the race

Four swing districts in Pennsylvania could be key to winning control of the House in November.

On paper, Fitzpatrick’s seat should be the easiest for Democrats to flip given his left-leaning district, but the congressman’s voting record and endorsement list make it difficult for Democrats to easily put him in a box, and Democrats privately concede this is their hardest race in the state, according to multiple Democratic operatives and sources.

Fitzpatrick was one of two House Republicans to vote against Trump’s signature package of tax and federal spending cuts in July, dubbed the “big beautiful bill,” even though he was a decisive vote for an earlier version of the legislation that passed the House in May. He has voted to rein in Trump’s war with Iran, but only after it passed the 60-day clock on the use of military force without congressional authorization.

He recently signed on to a new effort to force a vote on releasing more of the Jeffrey Epstein files. He did not back an initial effort to force a vote to compel the Justice Department to release millions of pages of files, but he did vote in favor of that earlier Epstein files push when it came to the floor. And on multiple occasions, he has helped Democrats bring their legislation to the floor. Fitzpatrick has signed on to more discharge petitions — a maneuver to circumvent House GOP leadership to bring bills to the floor — than any other Republican this Congress.

He was early to sound the alarm that Republicans did not have a plan to address the affordability crisis, and he worked with Democrats in the House to try to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. He is a fierce advocate for Ukraine and vowed to end Trump’s unpopular $1.8 billion compensation fund that critics said would be used to pay out the president’s allies. He’s the only Republican running for federal office to receive an endorsement from the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the country. In 2024, Fitzpatrick voted for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley for president, snubbing Trump.

Former Sen. Joe Manchin, who dropped his Democratic party affiliation to become an independent, told CNN that he endorsed Fitzpatrick because of their strong working relationship in Congress.

“I don’t look at the party, I look at the person, and I got to be honest with you, Brian is just the right person to be serving. I don’t even know the other gentleman. I’m sure he’s an upstanding person. I never go out and campaign against anybody. I just know when you’ve got a good one, you ought to keep him,” Manchin told CNN. “The Democrats will be able to work with Brian as well as they will anybody else if it’s good for our country.”

Harvie has looked to poke holes in Fitzpatrick’s voting record and argued that his votes against his party either are inconsistent or don’t change the outcome. He has questioned why Fitzpatrick is receiving money from the Republican Party if he claims to be an independent voice. And while Fitzpatrick meets with various groups throughout the district, Harvie has questioned why the congressman hasn’t held a formal town hall in years.

“I don’t really know the last time he’s cast a vote that matters against the president,” Harvie argued. “The president and (House Majority Leader) Mike Johnson have been putting millions of dollars into his campaign to boost him up because they’re afraid he’s going to lose. So, if he’s really that independent, why doesn’t he give that money back?”

‘I’m upset’: Undecided voters still weighing critical vote

Both candidates have their work cut out for them in the final two weeks before Election Day. Even with the onslaught of ads and campaign events, there are still voters in the district who say they haven’t made up their minds.

But some of Fitzpatrick’s supporters are having a particularly hard time given their broader frustrations with Trump and the Republican Party.

Retired Air Force member Nathaniel Gagum is a registered Republican who has voted for Fitzpatrick in the past but says he has been horrified by some of the administration’s military actions and its treatment of veterans. Gagum, who referred to Trump as a “draft dodger,” is furious that Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown. He says the Iran war should never have happened, and he could not believe Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined plans for a public livestream of a firing squad execution. (Trump later called off the plan for the livestream after public outcry.)

“I’m upset,” Gagum, who said he is still undecided, told CNN. Referring to Fitzpatrick, he said, “I’m questioning a lot because of some of the things I see in Congress and how you vote with Congress, and how you side with Trump, and you side with things that goes against our interests, my interests, my veterans.”

Becky Berg, a nurse and a registered Libertarian, has voted for Fitzpatrick in previous elections. But she told CNN her costs have gotten more expensive in the last two years, and she is worried about the rights of her LGBTQ+ friends and family who she says have been targeted by some of the Trump administration’s policies.

“Honestly, I’m just thinking about getting Republicans out of office for the most part. I will, before I vote, I will look into the candidates and try and be as informed as I can be. But I am not a fan of Trump and a lot of the policies he has been pushing. So, I’m kind of just looking at changing the current regime,” Berg told CNN.

In a potential warning sign for Democrats hoping for staying power beyond a potential wave this cycle, a number of Pennsylvania voters who said they were going to support Harvie said their support was more reactionary to the current environment than about Harvie himself.

“I think the biggest thing is it’s less about pro-Bob Harvie and more anti-Fitzpatrick. I just don’t think that he does everything that he’s claimed that he’s wanted to do, and I think it’s time for somebody else to be given a shot,” Julia Corrado, a social media manager, told CNN of her intended vote for Harvie.

If Fitzpatrick is able to overcome the environment, it will be because of voters like Joe, a 70-year-old retired EPA worker, who went up to Fitzpatrick on Saturday to shake his hand and share that he can separate his frustration with Trump (whom he called a “slime ball”) from the congressman.

“I’m a realist. I look at each individual,” he said.

‘I’m done’: The nonvoters

Some Pennsylvanians have felt so let down by their leaders that they have given up on the electoral process and plan either not to vote or to write in their own candidate.

Jason Green, a restaurant owner of 20 years, sat in his empty cheesesteak shop in Langhorne during what should have been the middle of a weekend dinnertime rush.

“It’s at the point where it’s almost not worth being in business,” Green said.

Green, a registered independent, voted for Trump in 2024 after initially supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He told CNN he challenged both Fitzpatrick and Harvie to donate the money they were raising for their campaigns to the local community, but said both declined. He plans to write in a different name on the ballot as a result.

“I’ve checked out,” Green said. “They’re both idiots in my eyes. Simple as that. I’m done.”

About an hour away on the opposite side of the district, John Barchard, 43, was resolved in his decision to not participate in the midterm election.

Barchard, who works in marketing, has never been registered with either party and has voted for both Democrats and Republicans. He voted for Harris in 2024; in 2020, he supported former Joe Biden; and he’s supported Fitzpatrick in the past. But now, his frustration with both parties has reached a boiling point because he says neither has done enough to address the needs of the working class. He views Republicans as having capitulated to Trump and criticizes Democrats for not fighting hard enough.

“It’s not a ‘what’s the point?’ It’s, ‘I don’t want blood on my hands anymore’ because every time we vote one way, it doesn’t balance out the other, in my opinion. And there needs to be more options,” Barchard told CNN. “The system is not working for anybody.”

But somehow, Barchard says he still has hope.

“For some dumb reason, as a millennial, I still love this country and I still think it works. I think the experiment is great and it’s taken a wrong turn,” he said.

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