Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick has spent nearly $5 million on his reelection campaign in Bucks County's 1st Congressional District. His Democratic challenger, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against a super PAC running attack ads in the race.

Fitzpatrick's campaign committee disbursed the funds according to Federal Election Commission records, the Bucks County Beacon reported Sept. 18. The five-term Republican entered July with $6.35 million in cash on hand after raising $6.7 million for the 2026 cycle, according to FEC filings. Harvie's campaign entered July with about $795,000.

That spending gap has fueled a wave of negative advertising. Among the groups running attack ads is Defending America PAC, an independent super PAC led by Chris Pack, a former National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson. The PAC's "Fire Bob Harvie" ads have claimed Harvie is under FBI investigation.

Harvie filed a federal defamation lawsuit Aug. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Pack and the PAC. The complaint seeks more than $150,000 in damages, alleging defamation and false light invasion of privacy.

The suit accuses the PAC of a "campaign to defame Harvie by repeatedly and recklessly publishing false and defamatory statements imputing criminal conduct …" according to the lawsuit language reported by the Bucks County Beacon on Sept. 1.

Harvie acknowledged appearing before a federal grand jury as a witness in 2021 in his former capacity as a Falls Township supervisor, the Bucks County Courier Times reported. His lawsuit states he has not been in contact with federal investigators since 2022. The federal probe reportedly ended with no charges filed against anyone.

Fitzpatrick is not named in the lawsuit. His representatives did not respond to the Associated Press's requests for a more complete interview, according to the AP.

The spending and legal battles come as some Republican voters signal they are switching sides. Mary Ryan, a 60-year-old registered Republican and medical writer from the Philadelphia suburbs, told the AP she has backed Fitzpatrick in past elections but plans to vote for Harvie in November.

"Incumbents just feel they can't cross that line. If they do, they're not going to get reelected," Ryan said. "They might not get reelected anyway."

Not all voters are moving away from the incumbent. Jim Rachau, a 45-year-old photographer from Doylestown and a registered independent, told the AP he plans to vote for Fitzpatrick again, citing the congressman's prior service as an FBI agent.

Fitzpatrick won by 13 percentage points in 2024 even as Democrat Kamala Harris carried the district by less than a point. He has leaned into his bipartisan brand as co-chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus. The House passed his Ratepayer Protection Act, which would require large data centers to pay for new energy infrastructure rather than passing costs to utility customers, by a 417–3 vote on Thursday, Sept. 17, according to the Problem Solvers Caucus.

No debate between the two candidates has been scheduled. At a Sept. 11 memorial in the district, Fitzpatrick and Harvie stood on opposite sides of the speaker's lectern and did not appear to speak to each other, the AP reported. Election Day is Nov. 3.