2026 Primary Preview: Harvie and Simonelli meet for Democratic nomination in PA-01

This is the first in our series highlighting the key Congressional primaries in the Commonwealth.

In the 1st Congressional District, Bob Harvie and Lucia Simonelli face off for the Democratic nomination in hopes of facing incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick in the fall.

Pennsylvania’s primary election is slated for Tuesday, May 19. 

Bob Harvie

• Experience: Bucks County Board of Commissioners, 2020-present, chair 2022-24; Falls Township Board of Supervisors, 2003-20; High School Social Studies teacher
• Priorities
  • Fight for working families, strengthen the middle class, protect our freedoms and restore fairness 
  • Make life more affordable by taking on the real causes of rising costs
  • Ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks, ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists
  • Meaningful tax relief for the middle class
  • Stop corporate investors from buying up our neighborhoods and make sure homes are for people, not hedge funds
  • Investing in early childhood education like Pre-K and kindergarten, expanding access to technical education and civics education, and ensuring every student learns the real-world personal finance skills. 
  • Make college more affordable and will invest more resources in job training programs and apprenticeships
  • Build on the Infrastructure Act to repair roads, upgrade bridges, and expand public transit
  • Restore critical cybersecurity funding, strengthen our national defense, and ensure our military is equipped and respected
  • Improve wages and benefits for veterans and strengthen the VA
• Fundraising: $427,808 from January 1 through March 31. Cash on Hand: $603,762.
• Education: B.A., George Washington University. M.Ed. Holy Family University
• Quotable: “Our country is failing to live up to its promise — and working families are paying the price. While people work longer and harder just to stay afloat, Washington is stuck in chaos, ignoring the struggles of everyday Americans.”
• Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

Lucia Simonelli

• Experience: Director of Programs, Carbon Removal Standards Initiative; Scientist
• Priorities
  • State-level universal healthcare as a step toward Medicare for All
  • Extend ACA Subsidies and Restore Medicaid
  • Support a federally protected national standard similar to Roe, as proposed in the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025
  • Restore VA Funding Levels
  • Pause Data Centers
  • Balance the Budget; Tax Extreme Wealth; End “Buy/Borrow/Die” and Stepped-Up Basis
  • immigration policy should reflect fairness, dignity, legal integrity, and practical solutions that prioritize human rights and border safety.
  • Universal Pre-School Care; Paid Parental Leave; Expand Vocational and Tech Training
  • Overturn Citizens United; No Private Money Donations to Campaigns; End Gerrymandering; End the Electoral College
  • Ban Congressional Stock Trading
• Fundraising: $23,763 from January 1 through March 31. Cash on Hand: $30,011.
• Education: B.S, University of Texas; Ph.D., University of Maryland
• Quotable: “Good policy is policy that serves the people, not just party leaders, billionaires, or corporations. But bad politics keep getting in the way of good policy, concentrating power in the hands of the few and eroding our faith in the political process. Together, we can take our power back, restore trust, and generate the energy and excitement necessary to build a different and better future.​”
• Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Bluesky

Forum

• League of Women Voters of Bucks County (April 27)

In The News

• Why questions on Israel weren’t asked Dem primary forum in Bucks (May 5, Bucks County Courier Times)
• Democratic Congressional Candidates Take Part In Voters Forum In Middletown (April 29, LevittownNow)
• ‘A seat we have to win’: Bucks County Democrats Bob Harvie and Lucia Simonelli face off ahead of primary to challenge Fitzpatrick (April 28, Inquirer)
• Cash flows to race for Congress in Bucks County. Who’s funding it (April 23, Bucks County Courier Times)
• Meet Bob Harvie and Lucia Simonelli, the Democrats fighting to unseat Brian Fitzpatrick in Congress (April 15, WHYY)
• Bucks County Democrats for Congress differ on health care, immigration (April 1, Bucks County Courier Times)

Steve Ulrich is the managing editor of PoliticsPA where this article originally appeared.