April 23, 2024
Jack Gruber/USA TODAY
Among the contested primary elections for Pennsylvania seats in the U.S. House are the 1st District race between Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick and challenger Mark Houck. In the 7th District, three Republicans are vying for the chance to run again Rep. Susan Wild in November.
In Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick has been projected to beat Mark Houck in Tuesday's Republican primary election. Fitzpatrick is seeking a fifth term in the district that covers all of Bucks County and a small part of eastern Montgomery County.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. and results will be updated below as information becomes available. All results are unofficial until certified by election officials.
Fitzpatrick, a moderate Republican, was declared the winner shortly after polls closed with about 18% of the vote counted. Fitzpatrick is a former FBI agent and special assistant U.S. attorney.who was first elected in 2016. He's cultivated a reputation as a bipartisan legislator with an independent streak, often crossing the aisle and diverging from the GOP on issues such as climate change, gun control and LGBTQ rights.
Houck was running for office for the first time on a conservative campaign fueled by his anti-abortion activism. He gained GOP recognition following his 2022 arrest for an alleged assault of a worker outside a health clinic in Philadelphia. After he was acquitted, Houck emerged as and author an lecturer and entered the race with a platform of Christian values and limited government.
Fitzpatrick comfortably fended off past primary challenges from other Republican contenders in previous years. He will go on to face Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary and whom Fitzpatrick defeated by a margin of 9% in the 2022 election.
State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who serves the 187th District in Lehigh County, is projected to win the Republican primary in Pennsylvania's 7th District covering all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, as well as parts of Monroe County. Democrat Susan Wild has held the seat since winning a special election in 2018 to replace retiring Republican Rep. Charlie Dent.
Wild, who ran unopposed in Tuesday's primary election, will be now be challenged in November by Mackenzie.
Mackenzie campaigned on a platform of promoting economic growth and protecting U.S. jobs from illegal immigration. He also called for tax cuts, reducing regulations and supporting American manufacturing.
Maria Montero, a personal injury lawyer from Easton, campaigned as a Constitutional conservative focused on securing U.S. borders, competing with China and strengthening local law enforcement.
Kevin Dellicker, a small business owner and military veteran, framed his campaign around pro-family policies and and striving for the long-term solvency of the Society Security system. He also vowed to defend 2nd Amendment rights and expand access to services for mental health and addiction.
In the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's 3rd District of the U.S. House, incumbent Dwight Evans was projected to be the winner over challenger Tracey Gordon minutes after the polls closed Tuesday.
Evans is running for his fifth term representing the district that covers West Philly, Northwest Philly, parts of North Philly and most of Center City. He has held the seat since defeating former Congressman Chaka Fattah in the 2016 Democratic primary.
Gordon had been elected Philadelphia Register of Wills in 2019. A month before running for re-election in the 2023 Democratic primary for that city job, she was accused of firing an employee who did donate to her reelection campaign. Gordon lost last year's primary election and at least five former employees from the office have sued her claiming they were fired after not financially supporting her reelection campaign.
There were no Republican candidates on the ballot for the GOP primary.
