Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.

Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (June 2 Democratic primary)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search


2022 →
← 2018
Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District
Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 18, 2020
Primary: June 2, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Brian Fitzpatrick (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Pennsylvania
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican
Inside Elections: Lean Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District
1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th • 16th • 17th • 18th
Pennsylvania elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Christina Finello defeated Skylar Hurwitz to win the Democratic primary in Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District on June 2, 2020. Finello received 78% of the vote to Hurwitz's 23%.

The incumbent was Brian Fitzpatrick, one of two House Republicans seeking re-election in a district Hillary Clinton (D) won in 2016. She won the 1st District by 2 percentage points.

Finello was elected to the Ivyland Borough Council in 2017 and became deputy director of Housing and Human Services for Bucks County in 2014. Hurwitz founded a blockchain technology consulting firm and worked as a grant manager for Conservation International.

Finello focused on healthcare policy, saying, "I understand that families in our district are forced to make tough choices every day — between paying for necessary health care or paying off a student loan bill or putting food on the table — because I’ve been there with my own family." Her healthcare platform included creating a public option, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and protecting health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.[3] The Bucks County and Montgomery County Democratic Committees endorsed Finello.

Hurwitz's campaign website said his campaign was "about uniting for a Fair Tax Platform that protects our planet and provides a more secure future for every American." The platform included setting the corporate tax rate at 35%, levying "a wealth tax on the top 0.1% of Americans with a net worth of $32 million or more," and changing income tax rates. Hurwitz said the tax platform would fund his other proposals, including Medicare for All by 2025, a Green New Deal, and debt-free college.[4] Our Revolution of Pennsylvania endorsed Hurwitz.

This page focuses on Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Pennsylvania modified its primary election process as follows:

  • Election postponements: The primary election was postponed from April 28 to June 2.
  • Voting procedures: The absentee ballot receipt deadline for the primary election was extended to 5:00 p.m. on June 9 (with a postmark deadline of June 2) in Allegheny, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Responses to the coronavirus pandemic

See also: Ballotpedia: Political responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

A May 24, 2020, Bucks County Courier Times article discussed Finello's and Hurwitz's digital campaigns. Finello said, "We’ve done virtual meet-and-greets, phone banking and texting to maintain ... connection" with people. Finello's campaign Twitter account featured statements related to COVID-19, including a May 23 tweet accusing Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of shifting blame from the Trump administration to China. Hurwitz said his campaign built "an extensive online strategy comprised of policy statements, infographics, and more than 30 virtual town halls since March 15th."[5] He posted videos of COVID-related town halls, including a May 18 event focused on unemployment compensation programs, on his campaign Twitter account.

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Christina Finello
Christina Finello
 
77.5
 
71,571
Image of Skylar Hurwitz
Skylar Hurwitz Candidate Connection
 
22.5
 
20,737

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 92,308
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[6] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

Christina Finello

Image of Christina Finello

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Ivyland Borough Council (Assumed office: 2017)

Biography:  Finello received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a joint law degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Villanova University School of Law and Drexel University. She worked for the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services as a forensic liaison; policy and criminal court coordinator; and criminal justice policy, grant, and planning coordinator. At the time of her campaign, she had served as deputy director of Housing and Human Services for Bucks County since 2014. She was also serving on the YMCA of Bucks County’s Central Bucks Regional Advisory Board and the Nativity of Our Lord’s school advisory board.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Finello said she had difficulty getting health coverage while pregnant and for her daughter's surgery. She said, "Our family’s experience has driven my passion for fixing broken systems — from ensuring veterans have access to quality care to improving outcomes for people struggling with substance abuse and mental health issues."

Finello said she would put the district's families first by fighting to "lower the cost of insurance and prescription drugs, decrease the burden of student debt, and provide real retirement security for our seniors."

Finello highlighted that she was endorsed by the Bucks County Democratic Committee and the Montgomery County Democratic Committee.

Show sources

Sources: Christina Finello's 2020 campaign website, accessed May 21, 2020; DemCastUSA, "Meet the Candidate: Christina Finello (Pennsylvania)," May 18, 2020; Christina Finello's 2020 campaign website, "Meet Christina," accessed May 21, 2020; Vote Smart, "Christina Finello's Biography," accessed May 21, 2020

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1 in 2020.

Skylar Hurwitz

Image of Skylar Hurwitz

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "Skylar Hurwitz is a technology entrepreneur and environmentalist born and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He split his youth equally between Yardley and New Hope-Solebury, worked in Washington, DC for nearly a decade, and has been running a small business in his hometown since 2018. As one of four boys raised by a single mother, he immediately recognized how out of touch our nation's leadership is with the challenges of the modern day working and middle class. His time in DC provided key insights into what is broken in Washington - and what must be done to fix the government so it starts working for everyday Americans again. Skylar gained experience working directly on Capitol Hill briefly serving in the office of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney of New York and working on a SunShot initiative grant at the National Association of Regional Councils that focused on lowering the bureaucratic costs of solar installations. Skylar then spent nearly three years managing a $30 million grant portfolio and doing extensive international travel for Conservation International in Arlington, Virginia. The program protected the most vulnerable biodiverse regions on Earth by building the capacity of locals in those countries to manage problems self-sufficiently. This campaign is about uniting for a Fair Tax Platform that protects our planet and provides a more secure future for every American. Every policy proposed by this campaign can be paid for in a way that increases the annual disposable income for individuals making $250,000 or less and couples making $500,000 or less. Together, we can provide all Americans with a baseline level of security and stability that makes our communities safer. "

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Together, we will restore faith and trust in our government with a Fair Tax Platform that puts American workers first.

As the job creators become automators, it is time corporations like Amazon begin paying their fair share in taxes like the rest of us.

It's time our foreign policy focused on building allies and security through cooperation around shared challenges, not dropping bombs because of our differences.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1 in 2020.

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[7] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[8] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Christina Finello Democratic Party $2,377,880 $2,370,814 $7,066 As of December 31, 2020
Skylar Hurwitz Democratic Party $19,926 $19,760 $166 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Primaries in Pennsylvania

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Pennsylvania utilizes a closed primary process. Voters are required to register with a political party to vote in the primary election.[9][10]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[11]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[12][13][14]

Race ratings: Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean RepublicanLean Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+1, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 1 percentage point more Republican than the national average. This made Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District the 233rd most Republican nationally.[15]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.02. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.02 points toward that party.[16]

District represented by a Republican in 2020 and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016

See also: U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2020 and won by Hillary Clinton in 2016

This district was one of five Republican-held U.S. House districts up in 2020 that Hillary Clinton (D) won in the 2016 presidential election. Most were expected to be among the House's most competitive elections in 2020.


Republican-held U.S. House districts won by Hillary Clinton in 2016
District Incumbent Ran in 2020? 2018 congressional margin 2016 presidential margin 2012 presidential margin
New York's 24th Republican Party John Katko Yes Republicans+5.3 Clinton+3.6 Obama+15.9
North Carolina's 2nd Republican Party George Holding Retired Republicans+5.6 Clinton+24.4 Obama+15.3
North Carolina's 6th Republican Party Mark Walker Retired Republicans+13.2 Clinton+21.5 Obama+17.7
Pennsylvania's 1st Republican Party Brian Fitzpatrick Yes Republicans+2.5 Clinton+2.0 Obama+2.6
Texas' 23rd Republican Party Will Hurd Retired Republicans+0.4 Clinton+3.4 Romney+2.6
Source: Sabato's Crystal Ball and Daily Kos


Click here to see the 30 U.S. House districts represented by a Democrat in 2020 and won by Donald Trump (R) in 2016.

District election history

2018

See also: Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1

Incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick defeated Scott Wallace in the general election for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brian Fitzpatrick
Brian Fitzpatrick (R)
 
51.3
 
169,053
Image of Scott Wallace
Scott Wallace (D)
 
48.7
 
160,745

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 329,798
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1

Scott Wallace defeated Rachel Reddick and Steve Bacher in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Scott Wallace
Scott Wallace
 
56.5
 
27,676
Image of Rachel Reddick
Rachel Reddick
 
35.3
 
17,313
Image of Steve Bacher
Steve Bacher
 
8.2
 
4,014

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 49,003
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1

Incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick defeated Dean Malik in the Republican primary for U.S. House Pennsylvania District 1 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Brian Fitzpatrick
Brian Fitzpatrick
 
67.0
 
31,394
Image of Dean Malik
Dean Malik
 
33.0
 
15,461

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 46,855
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Results prior to 2018 redistricting

On February 19, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court adopted a new congressional district map after ruling that the original map constituted an illegal partisan gerrymander. District locations and numbers were changed by the new map. Click here for more information about the ruling.

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Three of 67 Pennsylvania counties—4.5 percent—are pivot counties. These are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 pivot counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Erie County, Pennsylvania 1.56% 16.03% 19.88%
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 19.31% 4.81% 8.41%
Northampton County, Pennsylvania 3.78% 4.71% 12.30%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Pennsylvania with 48.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 47.5 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Pennsylvania cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Pennsylvania supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 53.3 to 43.3 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every presidential election between 2000 and 2012, but voted Republican in 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Pennsylvania. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[19][20]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 89 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 37.4 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 84 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 37.3 points. Clinton won 19 districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 114 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 20 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 119 out of 203 state House districts in Pennsylvania with an average margin of victory of 28.2 points. Trump won 17 districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Note: In Allegheny, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, the absentee ballot deadlines were: June 2, 2020 (postmarked) and June 9, 2020 (received).
  2. ↑ Note: In Allegheny, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, the absentee ballot deadlines were: June 2, 2020 (postmarked) and June 9, 2020 (received).
  3. ↑ Christina Finello's 2020 campaign website, "Issues," accessed May 21, 2020
  4. ↑ Skylar Hurwitz's 2020 campaign website, "Fair Tax Platform," accessed May 21, 2020
  5. ↑ Bucks County Courier Times, "Campaigning, social-distancing style," May 24, 2020
  6. ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  7. ↑ Fundraising by primary candidates can be found on the race's respective primary election page. Fundraising by general election candidates can be found on the race's general election page.
  8. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "2022 Quarterly Reports," accessed March 2, 2022
  9. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed September 24, 2024
  10. ↑ Casetext, "25 Pa. Stat. § 299," accessed September 24, 2024
  11. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  12. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  13. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  14. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  15. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  16. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  17. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Unofficial Candidate Listing – Pre Ballot Lottery," accessed February 17, 2016
  18. ↑ The New York Times, "Pennsylvania Primary Results," April 26, 2016
  19. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  20. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017


Pennsylvania's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
John Fetterman (D)
David McCormick (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Republican Party (11)
Democratic Party (8)


v • e
2019-2020 Elections to the United States Congress
Senate by State
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona (special) • Arkansas • Colorado • Delaware • Georgia (special) • Idaho • Illinois • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Montana • Nebraska • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • North Carolina • Oklahoma • Oregon • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Virginia • West Virginia • Wyoming
CongressLogo.png
House by State
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Election information
Super PACs/Organizations
Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Pennsylvania%27s_1st_Congressional_District_election,_2020_(June_2_Democratic_primary)&oldid=9233242"