Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick's attack ads cite articles by a convicted turtle trafficker with deep personal ties to the congressman, WHYY reported Oct. 15.
Reporter Andrew McGurl found that Dave Sommers, a Levittown man who pleaded guilty in 2019 to trafficking protected diamondback terrapins, wrote eight anti-Harvie posts on Patch that Fitzpatrick's campaign used in advertising. The posts make allegations against Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie without citing evidence, according to WHYY.
One Sommers post claimed Harvie "receives over $6M in Corporate PAC money." Federal Election Commission records show Harvie's campaign received about $2 million in total contributions through June 30. Just over $1.7 million came from individual donors. WHYY reported it is unclear how Sommers arrived at the $6 million figure.
Financial ties between Sommers and the Fitzpatrick family date to 2010. Mike Fitzpatrick's campaign paid Sommers about $2,300 for "refreshments" and "mileage reimbursements," according to FEC filings cited by WHYY. After Brian Fitzpatrick took his late brother's seat, his campaign paid Sommers more than $2,700 between 2016 and 2022 for office setup and other services.
The relationship extends beyond money. Sommers attended Fitzpatrick's wedding in June, posting photos of himself with the congressman's wife, Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, and former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, WHYY reported.
Fitzpatrick's congressional Instagram account follows Sommers, one of just 141 accounts it follows. Sommers appears in the background of several Fitzpatrick Facebook photos and is Facebook friends with the congressman's father and sister.
Sommers' social media history includes derogatory posts about women, Muslims and Black people, according to WHYY. In one post on X, Sommers wrote, "I'm as far right culturally as you can get." Fitzpatrick has cultivated a reputation as a moderate Republican in a district that voted for Kamala Harris in 2024.
Politico first reported the connection between Fitzpatrick's ads and Sommers' Patch posts on Sept. 30. Harvie's campaign manager, Dan McCormick, said at the time that the revelations proved Fitzpatrick "is a total fraud and just another corrupt career politician willing to do and say anything to cling onto power."
Sommers was sentenced in 2019 to six months in prison, three years of supervised release and $250,000 in restitution for poaching and selling thousands of diamondback terrapins from New Jersey marshlands over six years, according to a Department of Justice press release.
WHYY reported that neither Fitzpatrick nor Sommers responded to multiple requests for comment. An October poll commissioned by Harvie's campaign found the two candidates tied, as we reported Oct. 15, heading into the Nov. 3 election.
