Republicans’ defense of the ‘Biden 16’ House districts starts with Pennsylvania’s primary election
NEW HOPE, Pa. — Mark Houck makes a strong appeal to conservative Republicans in this corner of eastern Pennsylvania as he describes his arrest and subsequent acquittal on federal charges that he pushed a Planned Parenthood volunteer outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic.
The report has become a staple of Houck’s first bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in suburban Philadelphia, a central battleground of the 2024 elections, from his presidency.
“I’m telling you this because that’s how I became a target of the federal government — the weaponization of the government,” he said last week at a meeting of the New Hope Solebury Republican Club.
Houck’s campaign to unseat fourth-term Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Tuesday’s primaries could offer hints about Republican sentiment in the swing district in one of the most volatile White House races in years.
With few truly competitive seats in the House of Representatives in play, the first congressional district that Fitzpatrick represents is one of sixteen districts across the country that Democrat Joe Biden carried in the 2020 presidential election, where voters also sent Republicans to Washington sent. By comparison, five seats won that year by Donald Trump, then the incumbent president and now his party’s presumptive 2024 nominee, are now held by a Democrat.
Republicans’ majority in the House of Representatives is so small that Democrats only need to flip four seats in November to regain control. That makes the “Biden 16” a significant group of competitive seats and they could go a long way in determining whether the next president has a friendly or hostile House next year.
Fifteen of those seats are in states that Biden won in 2020. The exception is Nebraska’s 2nd District, represented by GOP Rep. Don Bacon. There are five seats in California, four in New York, two in Arizona and one each in New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Some of the “Biden 16” are like Fitzgerald, winning year after year by walking a tightrope between challengers in primaries and general elections. Nine of them won a first term in 2022, when Republicans took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in four years.
In the fall, many will face the same Democrat they defeated last time, sometimes narrowly.
The Fitzpatrick-Houck winner will face Democrat Ashley Ehasz, a former Army helicopter pilot who is uncontested in her primary. Fitzpatrick, a former FBI supervisor who defeated Ehasz by 10 percentage points in 2022, surpasses Houck and Ehasz by millions of dollars combined.
Before November, several others among the “Biden 16” must overcome primary challenges from the conservative wing of the Republican Party.
In Nebraska, Bacon may face his strongest primary test yet. If he wins, he will face the same Democratic opponent, Sen. Tony Vargas, whom he defeated by less than 3 percentage points two years ago.
Bacon was an outspoken proponent of sending more military aid to Ukraine, something his main opponent, No. 2 congressional candidate Dan Frei, opposed.
Frei, who claims the Republican base is fed up with Bacon, accuses the incumbent of reneging on campaign promises by voting for spending increases and bills that do nothing to stem the flow of immigrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent crossings.
Nearly all 16 races are considered toss-ups.
Republicans plan to send a message about lax border security and high inflation under Biden. Democrats are warning that Republicans will pursue a national abortion ban as Democrats push an issue that has consistently worked in their favor at the ballot box since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.
North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the House Republican campaign arm, said the “Biden 16” have formed a strong identity in their districts and are emphasizing local issues.
Hudson said Biden’s unpopularity and presidential turnout models are increasingly giving Republicans an edge, with the Republican Party attracting more working-class voters who are more likely to vote in the presidential election and helping swing these districts to Trump.
“The dynamics of presidential turnout are actually in favor of Republicans,” Hudson said in an interview. “And if you look state by state at where our battlegrounds are, the president’s turnout will help us.”
Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, who heads the House Democrats’ campaign arm, said Democrats will highlight what they say is chaos at the highest levels of government when Republicans are in control of the House of Representatives and Trump is in the White House. They will say that Trump is a threat to democracy and that Republicans are extremists and hypocrites who voted against big spending bills under Biden and then tried to take credit for the projects that ended up in their districts.
Voters “want people who are there to govern,” DelBene said in an interview. “They are not looking for extremism. And so we just have to make sure that voters are aware of what they’re doing. … Holding them accountable for their actual votes, even if their rhetoric sometimes tries to be more moderate.”
In Pennsylvania, Houck’s effort to oust Fitzpatrick, who is backed by a number of unions and business groups, has deep-seated sentiment that some Republicans say resonates with them.
At the Solebury Republicans’ rally on the grounds of a luxury hotel and wedding venue, Houck dissected the story of his arrest and described federal agents with guns drawn as they descended on his Bucks County home in 2022.
They arrested him in connection with the incident outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Philadelphia. Houck defended his actions, saying he acted to protect his 12-year-old son from offensive comments from the clinic volunteer. The trial ended in an acquittal in 2023, and Houck, who leads a Catholic ministry group, said he began submitting requests to run for office.
Houck’s story struck a chord with Rose Cipriano, who came to hear him speak. Her husband picked up a Houck sign and Cipriano, who had previously endorsed Fitzpatrick, said Houck has changed his mind as the primary approaches.
“I’m looking for fresh ideas and I’m willing to take a chance and vote for him on Tuesday,” Cipriano said. “I have known his story since it happened and I support him.”
Houck’s campaign reflects Trump’s own defense of the criminal cases against him. It revolves around the slogan “Faith Family Freedom,” as Houck talks about defunding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Departments of Agriculture, Education and Justice, calling it all unconstitutional.
Houck has raised more campaign money than any previous challenger to Fitzpatrick. But he is far behind Fitzpatrick’s fundraising and name recognition in a county where his brother previously held the congressional seat.
Fitzpatrick has the backing of the provincial party and the backing of police and fire unions, whose large campaign signs declaring his support pop up every two years.
Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Association, said Fitzpatrick represents workers just like his union members.
“And if there were more legislators, I think they would get more support from firefighters,” Brooks said in an interview. “We support those who support us, and Brian has supported us on many levels.”
Republicans at the Solebury meeting encouraged Houck to remain involved in party politics.
Houck said he will support Fitzpatrick in the general election if Fitzpatrick wins the primary, but will not campaign for him, deterred by what he said was Fitzpatrick’s failure to check on Houck’s family after his arrest. Fitzpatrick did not respond to interview requests.
Cipriano said she is disappointed in Fitzpatrick, but said the stakes are too high for the party to be divided in November. She promised to support Fitzpatrick if he won the primary.
“I support the Republican Party 100%,” she said. “So whoever comes into the lead, from the top down, will have my support.”
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