Incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick and Democrat Scott Wallace will face off this November.
The race will be among the most watched in the nation and will involve millions of dollars spent to determine which party will control the First Congressional District that spans all of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County.
On Tuesday, Republican voters selected Fitzpatrick, a retired FBI special agent from Middletown, over Doylestown attorney Dean Malik. The congressman received about 66 percent of Republican primary voters’ support. Fitzpatrick has been a bit more moderate during his first term, while Malik went all in on supporting President Donald Trump’s agenda.
At 10:39 p.m. inside the county Republican party headquarters in Doylestown, Chairwoman Pat Poprik took to the stage to announce Fitzpatrick’s victory.
The congressman joined the crowd of Republicans via Skype from his office in Washington D.C. He spent much of the day in Bucks County greeting voters before heading south to vote in congress.
Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick claimed victory via Skype from Washington D.C. Looks like the race in Nov. will be @BrianFitzUSA and @ScottWallacePA pic.twitter.com/DIRln32yXy
— Char Reese (@creese28) May 16, 2018
Former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick at the Republican HQ in Doylestown Tuesday night.
Credit: Erich Martin/NewtownPANow.com
“I just want you to know that I am here doing the work you elected me to do,” Fitzpatrick told supporters.
The congressman thanked Malik for running and welcomed his supporters.
“They have a voice and that voice deserves to be heard,” he said.
The congressman then pivoted to challenging Wallace, calling him “disingenuous.”
“We all know what is at stake this year,” Fitzpatrick told his supporters.
As of 11 p.m., Malik said his team was still surveying election returns and planned to release a statement.
Scott Wallace celebrating his victory Tuesday night at a hotel in Bensalem.
Credit: Amanda Burg/NewtownPANow.com
Wallace beat back Democratic challengers Rachel Reddick, a U.S. Navy veteran and attorney from Bedminster, and Lower Makefield environmentalist Steve Bacher. Wallace received about 58 percent of the Democratic vote with Reddick scoring 33 percent and Bacher getting 8 percent.
Wallace and his wife Christy were greeted with cheers as they entered the ballroom of the Wyndham Philadelphia in Bensalem.
“This is really a new experience for me,” he said. “This is really cool.”
While Wallace has been involved liberal projects and even worked for a Senate committee, this marks his first time running for congress.
“I’m not a politician. All I’ve ever done is work for the public interest in a system that never seemed to be completely on the side of regular people, working people, forgotten people,” he said.
Scott Wallace and his wife.
Credit: Amanda Burg/NewtownPANow.com
“I’ve had nearly 40 years experience working on solutions to real people’s problems and now I want to put that experience to work for the people of the first district of Pennsylvania.”
Wallace said what is happening in Washington D.C. is the opposite of “drain the swamp” and represents a government that is of, by, and for the corporate special interests. On Fitzpatrick, Wallace said the incumbent congressman has never met a corporate special interest that he won’t take money from.
“We have begun to flip the district, Wallace told supporters. “We’ve begun to take the House, and we’ve begun to make America sane again. Let’s get off the sidelines and let’s reclaim our government and our sense of common purpose. Let’s fix this in November.”
Wallace also thanked Reddick and Bacher for running.
“We wish Scott Wallace, his family, and his supporters the best. And we hope that the Democrats of the 1st District come together to take back this seat in November,” Reddick said in a statement.
Wallace, a millionaire who has put partly self-funded his run, was criticized by Reddick’s campaign for his residences in Maryland and South Africa. Her campaign also hit him on his wealth.
During the primary election, Malik’s campaign used his unwavering support for nearly all of Trump’s agenda as a point of focus. The campaign called out Fitzpatrick on whether he truly supported the Second Amendment and his vote on the Affordable Care Act last year.
