Summary
CIVPAC supports the re-election of Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.
Fitzpatrick is a Republican, and we do not agree with him on every issue. But he is one of the clearest examples in Congress of the kind of cross-party, pragmatic, institutionally serious representation that CIVPAC believes the country needs more of.
He co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, has supported Ukraine, has defended America’s alliances, and has built a political identity around working across party lines rather than simply performing for the most partisan elements of his own party. The Problem Solvers Caucus announced that Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi were elected co-chairs for the 119th Congress.
Pennsylvania’s 1st District is competitive, and the Democratic field includes serious candidates. CIVPAC does not dismiss those candidates. But based on Fitzpatrick’s record, we believe he merits support in the general election.
Background
Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District includes Bucks County and part of Montgomery County, in the Philadelphia suburbs. It is the kind of district where the general election remains genuinely competitive and where candidates are rewarded for appealing beyond their party’s ideological base.
That matters.
In too many congressional districts, the real election is the primary. Safe districts and partisan incentives often reward candidates who appeal to activists rather than to the broader electorate. PA-1 is different. A candidate who wins there must speak to a politically mixed electorate.
Fitzpatrick has done that repeatedly. He has maintained a Republican identity while also cultivating a record of bipartisan engagement and pragmatic problem solving. That does not make him perfect. It does make him valuable.
Bipartisanship and Problem Solving
CIVPAC does not use the word “bipartisan” as a magic label. Bipartisanship can be superficial. It can also be a way of avoiding hard choices.
But in a closely divided country, serious governing usually requires some ability to work across party lines. Fitzpatrick’s leadership in the Problem Solvers Caucus is therefore relevant. The caucus is built around the premise that members of both parties can identify practical areas of agreement and move legislation forward, even when the broader political environment rewards conflict.
The Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School ranked Fitzpatrick first in the House on their Bipartisan Index for the fifth consecutive year.
That approach fits CIVPAC’s philosophy. We support public policy that is economically efficient, fair, protects individual freedom, and is politically realistic. Political realism does not mean surrendering to partisan dysfunction. It means recognizing that durable policy in a closely divided country usually requires persuasion, coalition-building, and compromise.
Fitzpatrick’s record gives independent voters a reason to believe he understands that.
Foreign Policy and Ukraine
Fitzpatrick’s support for Ukraine is also important.
He has served as a co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus and supported the 2024 supplemental aid package for Ukraine. In 2024, the bipartisan co-chairs of the Ukraine Caucus, including Fitzpatrick, applauded House passage of the supplemental aid package and urged swift Senate action. He also helped introduce the bipartisan Stand With Ukraine Act, intended to support the U.S.-Ukraine bilateral security agreement.
CIVPAC believes that support for Ukraine is not merely another foreign-policy issue. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a direct challenge to the international rules-based order, including the principle that nations should not be permitted to seize territory by force.
At a time when isolationist pressures have grown within the Republican Party, Republicans who continue to support Ukraine and America’s alliance commitments deserve recognition.
Democratic Norms and Institutional Responsibility
Fitzpatrick is not primarily an endorsement based on symbolic resistance to Donald Trump. That distinguishes this endorsement from some others CIVPAC has considered.
The argument for Fitzpatrick is broader.
He represents a model of Republican politics that is more serious, more coalition-oriented, and more compatible with responsible governance than the performative politics that now dominates much of the party. He has not built his public identity around conspiracy theories, election denial, or personal loyalty to one political figure. He has instead emphasized bipartisan work, constituent service, national security, and practical results.
That matters because the United States needs two responsible political parties. It is not enough for Democrats to win more seats. The Republican Party also needs members who can demonstrate that conservative or center-right politics can operate within democratic norms and within the reality of a closely divided country.
Fitzpatrick is one of the better examples of that possibility.
The Democratic Opposition
Bob Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner and former teacher, is the Democratic nominee. He is a serious candidate, and CIVPAC does not dismiss his candidacy. We did not endorse against him lightly.
But the existence of a credible Democratic nominee does not eliminate the case for Fitzpatrick. CIVPAC is not a partisan organization. We do not endorse Democrats merely because they are Democrats, or Republicans merely because they are Republicans.
In this race, Fitzpatrick’s record of bipartisan engagement, support for Ukraine, and pragmatic center-right governance gives him a strong claim on the support of centrist independent voters.
Strategic Considerations
CIVPAC’s goal is not to maximize victories for either party. Our goal is to improve the quality of governance.
Sometimes that means supporting Democrats. Sometimes it means supporting Republicans. In this race, supporting Fitzpatrick also serves a broader institutional purpose: it rewards a Republican who has shown that cross-party cooperation and responsible governance can still succeed in a competitive district.
That is important.
If Republicans like Fitzpatrick lose not because they are ineffective, but because every competitive district becomes simply a test of national partisan control, then the incentives for pragmatic Republican governance weaken further. The country would be worse off if the only Republicans who survive are those from safe districts where the greatest danger comes from the party’s most ideological primary voters.
Independent voters should want both parties to nominate and elect serious candidates. Fitzpatrick is a serious candidate.
Fitzpatrick is also an example of why CIVPAC believes both parties should try to “win everywhere.” A Republican who can remain competitive in a politically mixed suburban district has to listen to voters outside the Republican base. That discipline is good for the district and good for the country.
Conclusion
Brian Fitzpatrick is not a perfect candidate from CIVPAC’s perspective. No serious candidate is.
But he has demonstrated a sustained commitment to bipartisan problem solving, support for Ukraine and America’s alliances, and a pragmatic approach to governing in a competitive district.
Endorsing Fitzpatrick is not an endorsement of Republican control of Congress. It is an endorsement of a particular Republican who has earned support by behaving in ways American politics needs to reward.
For these reasons, CIVPAC supports the re-election of Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.
We welcome your feedback on this endorsement. Please include the candidate or race you are commenting on.