There will be no public debate featuring incumbent Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz in the 2024 election cycle.
According to the Ehasz campaign and several Republican sources, a debate was expected to be held at Bucks County Community College’s Bristol Township campus in October, as has been a tradition for many election cycles.
Rumors began circulating in early September that the debate would not happen.
The Ehasz campaign confirmed in mid-September to this news organization that they were told no debate would happen, but the Democratic campaign was working to find alternatives.
“Bucks and Montgomery County voters deserve the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates, particularly as my opponent Brian Fitzpatrick obscures his own anti-abortion voting record and he cozies up to MAGA extremists like Jim Jordan and Speaker Mike Johnson,” Ehasz said in a statement.
The Bucks County Beacon, a progressive publication, reported that the community college’s Associate Vice President for Student and Veteran Affairs Kevin Antoine said no date was picked for the event and regular moderator Bill Pezza, a history professor, did not wish to host the event.
Bucks County Community College spokesperson Dan Kanak later confirmed to LevittownNow.com that no date for the debate had been selected and it would not be happening.
The Fitzpatrick campaign did not return two requests for comment about debates this fall. The campaign has not responded to requests for comment since the 2020 election.
Prior to the pandemic, the First Congressional District, which encompasses all of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County, had several forums and debates where voters could listen to the Democratic and Republican candidates. The in-person and radio station-hosted events have gone away, and the community college debate was the last one remaining.
In 2022, Fitzpatrick debated Ehasz at the community college and covered a number of important topics. The event was well attended, covered by multiple media outlets, broadcast live online by LevittownNow.com, and aired on PCN TV.
Ehasz issued a video on social media recently calling on Fitzpatrick, who rarely holds pre-announced public events, to a debate.
The Bensalem Township Democrat and U.S. Army veteran said she has agreed to a forum hosted by the New Pennsylvania Project, a nonprofit that aims to register voters of all parties, defend voting rights, reform to policing, raise the state’s minimum wage, find a new funding plan for public schools, increase higher education funding, and cancellation of student debt.
As of Friday, there had been no word on whether the congressman will take part in the forum that is set for October 22.
“The fact that Brian isn’t even willing to face me on the debate stage and defend his record tells us all that we need to know: he doesn’t show up for this community,” Ehasz said.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewHopeFreePress.com
Fitzpatrick has been criticized by Democratic and Republican opponents over his years in Congress for not holding town hall-style events, putting on telephone town halls that only reach a select number of district residents with little notice, and taking part in fewer and fewer media interviews.
A source in Bucks County Republican politics said Fitzpatrick’s campaign has seen favorable polling and doesn’t want to make any waves with questions about abortion, immigration, the January 6, 2021 attack, or former President Donald Trump, who endorsed Fitzpatrick in 2020.
“Their main objective is not give Democrats or the media any chance to criticize him,” said the Republican politico, who plans to support Fitzpatrick.
A Democrat, who has previously worked a congressional campaign in the district, had a similar opinion.
“[The congressman] has a singular mission: don’t f**k it up,” the Democrat said, noting they will be voting for Ehasz.
Indivisible Bucks County, a progressive group, chided Fitzpatrick for not taking part in a debate.
“Brian Fitzpatrick owes it to the people of Pennsylvania’s First Congressional district to participate in a debate. All representatives, or those who seek that position, have an obligation to their constituents to tell them exactly where they stand on matters of consequence, so their voters can make an informed decision on their ballots,” Kierstyn Zolfo, a member of Indivisible Bucks County, said in a statement. “For a person like Brian Fitzpatrick, who already shuns town halls and media interactions, to abandon the long tradition of congressional debates in our district, shows the contempt he has for the people in our community.”
Punchbowl News, an outlet focused on Congress, published an article this week about Fitzpatrick not responding to requests to talk about his race and the lack of a debate.
Fitzpatrick was with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson at a private fundraiser in Newtown Township on Thursday, the publication reported.
Ehasz ran to represent the district in 2022 but lost to Fitzpatrick. However, she believes she can win and national Democrats have put more support behind her than in 2022.
The Democrat’s campaign has raised $1.25 million in the last quarter, while Fitzpatrick’s campaign hasn’t yet announced his fundraising haul. However, as of the end of June, Fitzpatrick had nearly $4 million in campaign coffers, according to federal data.
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