A pro-life activist who staunchly opposes pornography and once had his home raided by the FBI is hoping to make it to Congress as the battleground state of Pennsylvania kicks off its primaries on Tuesday.
Mark Houck, founder of the Catholic ministry The King’s Men, is campaigning on his experience as a target of ‘weaponization of the government’.
He was the victim of an FBI raid in 2022, in which dozens of armed officers stormed his home with guns pointed at his family. Houck was arrested by officers in the presence of his wife and children.
According to the FBI, his crime was pushing a Planned Parenthood employee the year before as he and his family were praying outside the clinic.
Houck, who claimed he was defending his son at the time, was later cleared of all wrongdoing.
Republican House candidate Mark Houck addresses a crowd of Republican voters a week before Tuesday’s primaries. He’s trying to unseat four-term Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick
Houck had his home raided by FBI agents in the fall of 2022 after pushing a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood employee the year earlier for yelling at him and his son, who was 12 at the time. The FBI agents raised weapons on Houck during his arrest. He was later cleared of all wrongdoing
Now the anti-abortion activist hopes to gather enough votes Tuesday to unseat a Republican he labels not a true conservative.
Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Houck’s opponent, is a four-term congressman and former FBI agent in a district previously held by his late brother, Mike Fitzpatrick.
His name recognition and support from moderates and unions will make it difficult for Houck to oust him.
Notably, Pennsylvania’s 1st District is among the few electors that voted to send a Republican to the House of Representatives, while also voting to send a Democrat, Joe Biden, to the White House in 2020 Place house.
This closely divided, moderate area could prove too centrist for Houck’s strong anti-abortion views.
Meanwhile, Democrat Ashley Ehasz is unopposed in the district and will be the party’s presumptive nominee.
She is a former Army helicopter pilot who lost to Fitzpatrick by 10 points in 2022.
Plus, Fitzpatrick has a cash advantage ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
He reportedly has more cash on hand than both Houck and Ehasz combined.
The former FBI agent has promised to bring “independent leadership” to the Capitol, where he often votes moderately.
And his record supports his claims.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick has attacked Houck’s past comments about his struggles with pornography
The conservative nonprofit Heritage Action gave Fitzpatrick a paltry score of 34 percent on his conservatism scorecard for his lifelong voting record as a member of Congress.
Houck sees this as an opportunity.
“If you are not strong enough to stand up for your constituents, it is time to leave Washington,” Houck wrote on X on Monday evening.
“Let’s say goodbye to Brian Fitzpatrick and hello to true conservative values. Time to save our republic
Fitzpatrick, on the other hand, has taken out ads attacking Houck for not being as godly as he pretends to be.
The member’s campaign repeatedly targeted Houck over past comments about his struggles with pornography.
“I struggled with pornography and was exposed to it at a young age,” Houck told “The Regular Catholic Guy Show” host Jeff Garrett during a 2021 episode.
‘Of course that leads to sexual sin, masturbation and all that. And so that was a chronic habit that I had that just became a bad habit. Ultimately, it was self-medication, I can say at first, and then it became a bad habit,” Houck said at the time.
Houck ripped Fitzpatrick for not having “real conservative values.”
But Houck has addressed the controversy head-on, saying, “I’ve shared it many times online and in interviews and books. My past struggles are just that. They are a history from childhood to young adulthood.”
He has also fired back at Fitzpatrick with culture war salvos, saying he “spends more time on Pride Parades than protecting the constitutional rights of his constituents.”
In Pennsylvania, polls close at 8 p.m. local time.