Brian Fitzpatrick raised $1.22 million this quarter as Democrats plan to target his Pa. district in the 2026 midterms

Fallon Roth and Ryan Briggs, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 21, 2025

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PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Republican incumbent congressional lawmakers have dominated fundraising in the first quarter of 2025, according to campaign finance reports, likely preparing to protect their seats and the House majority in the 2026 midterms.

Leading the pack is U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), a moderate Republican representing Bucks County and a sliver of Montgomery County, who is bracing for a heated midterm as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has targeted his district for the upcoming race.

Fitzpatrick appears to be readying for the challenge, with the largest war chest out of Pennsylvania’s entire congressional delegation this quarter: $1.22 million raised and $5.3 million in the bank.

The filings, from the Federal Election Commission, offer an early glimpse at preparations for the 2026 midterms — when both parties will be fighting for control of the House and Senate.

Three other Pennsylvania Republicans in competitive districts also appear to be bracing for potentially expensive races to hang on to their seats as Democrats will look to regain control of both chambers. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee told The Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this month that it will particularly focus on Fitzpatrick in the 1st District, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R., Pa.) in the 10th District, and Republican freshmen U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the 7th District and U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan in the 8th.

And fresh off his November win, newly elected U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick raised about $784,000 this quarter.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who will face reelection in 2028, brought in roughly $396,000 this quarter, his lowest quarterly haul since declaring candidacy in 2021. In 2022, the face-off between Fetterman and celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz became the most expensive Senate race in the nation, with Fetterman relying on a steady stream of small-dollar donations.

GOP legislators make up 10 of Pennsylvania’s 17 congressional members and pulled in $4.8 million campaign dollars between Jan. 1 through March 31. The state’s seven Democrats raised a collective total of $1.2 million, according to the campaign finance filings.

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Pa.), who represents parts of Philadelphia, raised the least of anyone in the Pennsylvania delegation, bringing in roughly $38,000 in the first quarter. Evans, 70, suffered a stroke last year and has missed hundreds of votes in a narrowly divided Congress. Evans has dismissed concerns about his health and has said he intends to run for reelection in 2026.

“As last year’s filing stipulates, Congressman Evans has every intention to run for re-election at this time,” Michael Dineen, a senior adviser for the Evans campaign, said in a statement. “He is working hard at fundraising and plans for a successful Q2.”

Still, should Evans decide not to run again, there could be other Philly Democrats jonesing to take his spot, including State Sen. Sharif Street (also the Pennsylvania Democratic Party chair) and State Rep. Morgan Cephas (D., Philadelphia).

What could this mean for midterms in Pennsylvania?

In 2026, all eyes will be on certain swing districts in Pennsylvania as Democrats and Republicans battle for the House and Senate, both of which are currently under GOP control.

After a red wave win in 2024, Republicans are taking a victory lap around the prospects from this quarter’s fundraising for the midterms: “House Republicans aren’t just winning the fundraising game against vulnerable Democrats — they’re running laps around them. Democrats are leaderless, divided, and banished to the wilderness … and now their donors are closing their checkbooks.” Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement.

For Democrats, “no amount of money will paper over” the records of House Republicans including Fitzpatrick, Mackenzie, Bresnahan or Perry, said DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton in a statement, pledging that Democrats are well-positioned for the midterms.

“It’s why Democrats are favored to re-take the majority. Even this early in the cycle, House Democrats have the better message, stronger candidates and a favorable political environment as we go into 2026,” Shelton said.

And in the four Pennsylvania districts being targeted by national Democrats, Republicans appear to be readying their coffers.

Mackenzie flipped his Lehigh Valley district red last year by defeating Democratic incumbent Susan Wild, who served three terms.

He will now face Democrat Lamont McClure in the midterms, and signs are already pointing to an expensive race in the Seventh District. McClure, a Northampton County executive, raised about $142,000 this quarter — the strongest haul of any current challenger and more than some Pennsylvania incumbents.

“What we’re most gratified about is in just a little over a month — because we were only in for a little over a month in the first quarter — we had over 1,000 small donors, and what we think is that’s demonstrating that this is a people-powered campaign,” McClure said.

Still, McClure’s figure was still dwarfed by Mackenzie’s $673,040 this quarter — a sign Mackenzie said in a news release, that voters “continue to support our mission to secure our borders, restore prosperity, and put the American people first.”

In the 1st Congressional District, Fitzpatrick — who touts his status as the “#1 most bipartisan member of Congress” — will be running for his sixth two-year term in 2026 to represent purple Bucks County, where Trump narrowly won the presidential election.

He already has a challenger in Democrat Bob Harvie, chair of the Bucks County Commissioners, who announced his plans this month to run for the seat.

Campaign finance reports were not available for Harvie for this quarter.

In the 10th District, Perry raised roughly $565,000 this quarter. Though no challenger has officially entered the race, Janelle Stelson, a Democratic television anchor who narrowly lost to Perry in 2024, said at a town hall in March that she is “seriously considering” a second run.

A challenger has also not yet been announced for Bresnahan in the 8th District seat. Bresnahan raised about $832,000 in the first quarter but owes more than $1.3 million in debt to himself and some marketing or strategy firms after last year’s election, FEC records show.

Christopher Nicholas, a GOP political consultant at Eagle Consulting Group Inc., said that certain Democratic strategies — like grassroots rallies for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders — could help catalyze Democratic energy for the midterms.

Still, he said he believes Republicans, with control over both chambers, still have the upper hand when it comes to bringing in fundraising.

“It’s good to be the party in power for the GOP,” he said.