PA 1st District Results: Fitzpatrick Wins Reelection, AP Declares

Updated at 3:31 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4.

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — Republican Brian Fitzpatrick has won reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives in Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District, the Associated Press declared Tuesday afternoon.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick on Wednesday had built up a solid lead in defense of his Bucks County-based seat against a Democratic challenge.

Challenger Christina Finello was looking to the ongoing count of Democrat-leaning mail-in ballots to close the gap. But, as the count went on, the numbers were looking less in her favor.

At around 12:35 p.m., Fitzpatrick had 217,435 votes to Finello's 145,764 in Pennsylvania's 1st District U.S. House race. Bucks County officials had said mid-morning that there were roughly 77,000 mail-in ballots yet to be counted.

In Bucks and Montgomery counties, officials reported dramatically more registered Democrats returning mail-in ballots, compared to Republicans, who largely voted in person.

In Bucks County, which makes up the vast majority of the district, the incumbent led by a whopping 195,131 to 124,948, with 303 of 304 precincts reporting unofficial results.

Fitzpatrick also had taken a lead in the small sliver of Montgomery County included in the district. There, Fitzpatrick led 22,304 to 20,816.

The race, for one of just six U.S. House seats held by Republicans in districts won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016, has seen some unusual swings. Polling just after this spring's primaries showed Fitzpatrick and Finello in a tight race.

But as it moved into the summer months, Fitzpatrick, who started the race with a massive fundraising advantage over his Democratic rival, appeared to pull away, with multiple polls showing him holding double-digit leads.

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Bolstered by polls showing the race tightening again, Finello, an Ivyland Borough council member, closed a bit of the money gap in the race's final weeks, with both candidates reporting record cash hauls at the Sept. 30 reporting deadline.

Two polls conducted in October showed the race as a tossup within the margin of error in each.

Wednesday morning, Finello's campaign was urging voters to be patient as mail-in ballots — which were cast in record numbers this year due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak — were counted.

"Voters are calling out for change, and have cast an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots to make their voices heard," said Ali Anderson, Finello's campaign manager. "Now we must trust the electoral process and the hardworking officials in Bucks and Montgomery County who will diligently tabulate the votes. With ... more than 100,000 mail-in ballots still to be counted, it is clear that our race will not be called quickly."

Shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Finello spoke to supporters in an online address, sharing similar sentiments.

"I have confidence in our officials, and I urge patience and trust in our democratic process," Finello said.

Late Tuesday, Fitzpatrick posted a video to social media thanking voters.

"We're looking really, really good right now," he said. "Overwhelming numbers ... . The support that we've seen so far and the numbers that we've seen so far have been overwhelmingly positive."

With as many as 200,000 mail-in ballots to be counted from Bucks County, and similarly big numbers in Montgomery, there was no way a clear winner was going to emerge as Tuesday night became Wednesday morning.

The race could boil down to whether a well-liked incumbent, with a reputation as a rare congressional moderate, can hold out in an increasingly Democratic district where President Donald Trump appears less popular than ever.

Fitzpatrick, 46, of Middletown, is a former FBI agent who has highlighted his public service. While he has toed the GOP line on issues like abortion rights and President Donald Trump's impeachment, he has split with the party to support some gun-safety bills, same sex marriage and civil protections based on sexual orientation.

He voted against a Republican-led effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (still called Obamacare by some) but supported a Trump-backed tax plan that critics like Finello say endangered the law.

"I've made it my mission to take on a broken and dysfunctional Washington," Fitzpatrick told Patch. "On my very first day in office, I introduced a bold and sweeping government reform package to challenge the career politicians, impose term limits and abolish congressional pensions for members of Congress. In order to truly fix the system, we must build bridges, restore people's faith in the system and bring America together."

Finello, 44, is an Ivyland Borough Council member and former deputy director of the Bucks County Division of Housing and Human Services.

She has sounded traditional Democratic themes during the race, including improving the Affordable Care Act to lower the cost of premiums and prescriptions, making college more affordable and tackling the climate crisis.

"Growing up in a working-class family in Bucks County, I know the struggles that our community is facing ... , Finello said to Patch. "We deserve to have a representative in Congress who puts the needs of the district before corporate special interests and the Trump agenda."

For full coverage of the election in Pennsylvania, go here.