National groups come to the aid of Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Bucks County

Jul. 16--Three national political players are looking to put the race for Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District on the map for Democratic nominee Christina Finello.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Thursday added Finello, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick's bid for a third term, to its Red-To-Blue program. That national play from the party "arms top-tier candidates with organizational and fundraising support," according to the DCCC.

U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, the Illinois Democrat who chairs the DCCC, noted the district, which includes all of Bucks County and a slice of Montgomery County, is "trending rapidly toward Democrats," giving Finello momentum. Finello is an Ivyland Borough Council member and served as deputy director of the county's housing and human services department

The move follows a Wednesday endorsement of Finello from Emily's List, a Democratic political action committee which calls itself the "nation's largest resource for women in politics." And NARAL, an organization that advocates for abortion rights, endorsed Finello Friday.

Fitzpatrick's campaign took notice, emailing supporters Wednesday to say his own fundraising is lagging and to warn about "extremists" meddling in the race.

"Washington elites have already begun trying to spread their socialism further and further into our communities and at this rate, our strong common-sense ideals could become a thing of the past," Fitzpatrick's email to supporters said.

Fitzpatrick's campaign last week touted the $1.8 million in the bank it said he will show in a federal finance report due Thursday. Finello, who has trailed in resources, last week announced that she had raised $310,000 in the second quarter of this year. Her campaign said it would report $296,000 on hand.

Finello on Wednesday continued to try to link Fitzpatrick to President Donald Trump, accusing the two-term Republican in a digital ad of "failing to stand up" to the president.

"We're looking forward to holding Brian Fitzpatrick accountable for standing silently by while Trump has created chaos and division, failed to protect Americans' health and safety, and put corporate profits above hard-working families," Finello's campaign said in an email.

Fitzpatrick, in an interview with The Inquirer in May, said he hasn't decided whether to vote for Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 general election. His Republican primary opponent, Andy Meehan, trumpeted that news but still lost the race by more than 26 points.

A Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by Finello last month found the race a toss-up but Fitzpatrick's numbers dipped when he was tied to Trump's record in office. A House Majority PAC poll last month also found the race neck-and-neck, Politico reported.

Fitzpatrick on Thursday released his own internal poll, done this month by Public Opinion Strategies, which showed him leading Finello 53% to 39%. Sixty-eight percent of the voters in that poll said they had never heard of Finello. And Biden leads Trump, 51% to 42%, the poll found.

Fitzpatrick, who casts himself as a moderate Republican, makes for a likely national target. Democratic voters narrowly outnumber Republicans in the district.

Democrats won control of the Bucks County government there last November for the first time in decades. And the district is solidly middle-class, with plenty of college graduates -- a demographic that, polls show, takes a dim view of Trump.

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