In suburban Philadelphia, in one of the most hotly contested swing districts in the country, Democratic congressional candidate Bob Harvie is pitching a message of affordability. But not because of a certain big-city mayor 90 minutes north on I-95.

The former high school history teacher and vice chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners who is hoping to unseat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) is not trying to mimic the campaign tactics of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist who ran a populist campaign pledging to make the city affordable again. 

Instead, he said he’s looking for inspiration from two moderate Democratic governors elected last year: New Jersey’s Mikie Sherrill and Virginia’s Abigail Spanberger.

“There have been others who have been talking about affordability. It’s not a Democratic hoax, as the president has said it is. It has a real impact on people, and we’re seeing it here at the county,” Harvie told Jewish Insider in an interview last week. 

Harvie, 54, is not the only Democrat vying to take on Fitzpatrick, but he has racked up several endorsements from leading Pennsylvania officials, including Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and the chairs of the Democratic Party in Bucks County and neighboring Montgomery County. Gov. Josh Shapiro has quietly thrown his support behind Harvie, Axios reported last month, though a Shapiro spokesperson declined to comment. An October poll commissioned by Harvie’s campaign showed him and Fitzpatrick running neck-and-neck in a two-way matchup. 

If he wins the primary, Harvie faces an uphill battle against Fitzpatrick, a moderate who has held onto the 1st Congressional District seat through several tough elections — including in 2020, when he was one of just nine House Republicans to win a district that President Joe Biden carried. Fitzpatrick won reelection in 2024 by more than 10 points, even as Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly prevailed in the district. 

Speaking to JI, Harvie described hearing from voters at town halls that the American dream now feels out of reach, and he described Fitzpatrick and Trump as part of the problem. But Harvie was clear that he does not think the path to victory in this swing district lies in trashing Trump. 

“​​Certainly this campaign is not going to just be about how terrible Donald Trump is. There are people who still follow him, support him. I don’t think we’re going to be real successful in terms of getting them to switch their votes, I think, unless we’re focusing on issues,” Harvie explained. 

“I will admit that I’m a lifelong Democrat, and my party has lost its way over the past several decades,” Harvie added. “I think many people who used to be solid Democrats turned to Trump because they just felt that the Democratic Party wasn’t there for them, didn’t care about them, and so we have to get back to focusing on those issues, because that’s really what matters.”

While Harvie may be leaning in on the affordability message that Mamdani popularized last year, he is taking a more traditional approach to foreign policy and to the U.S.-Israel relationship than the mayor. Harvie, who taught high school history for two decades, attributes the recent rise in antisemitism to a lack of education about Judaism and Israel. 

“I think what we’re seeing among younger people is just a lack of understanding about the history of Jewish people, especially in the 20th century, the history of Israel,” said Harvie. “I don’t know if there’s been another country in the history of this planet that has had to fight harder in the first 80 years of its existence just to exist. I think fighting antisemitism means you stand up against it every time you see it.” 

Harvie’s experience with foreign policy is mostly limited to the classroom. He regularly brought American veterans to talk to his students, and he also invited Holocaust survivors to speak. In 2023, after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, he joined two other county commissioners in releasing a statement saying that they “stand in solidarity with the people of Israel.” The county administration building’s interior was lit up in blue and white. 

“We haven’t had a whole lot of consistent friends in the Middle East who we can trust, except for Israel. That’s quite blunt. And Israel, obviously, like any country, has the right to defend itself, and so certainly, as an ally of Israel, we should be willing to help them and make sure that they can protect themselves,” Harvie said. 

At a town hall last week, Harvie was asked by an audience member whether he would accept donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, at a time when many progressive candidates are saying they won’t accept an endorsement from the pro-Israel lobby. Harvie responded by saying he hadn’t yet spoken to anyone from AIPAC.

A spokesperson for Harvie said on Tuesday that he will accept donations from any source, without specifically addressing AIPAC. 

“Bob welcomes support for his campaign and he will always stand with the Bucks and Montgomery County Jewish communities, speak out against rising antisemitism and support the Jewish state of Israel and her right to defend herself,” campaign manager Dan McCormick told JI on Tuesday. 

AIPAC has supported Fitzpatrick in the past and plans to do so in 2026. “Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick is a strong champion of the U.S.-Israel partnership, and we are proud to support him in this race,” an AIPAC spokesperson told JI. 

J Street has not yet made a decision about whether to get involved in the race, but they have opposed Fitzpatrick in the past, a J Street source said. 

Following the Oct. 7 attacks and ensuing war in Gaza, more congressional Democrats than ever have signed onto legislation that would place conditions on American military aid to Israel. Harvie does not plan to join them.

“Israel is an ally of ours who we trust. I don’t see a reason for conditions,” Harvie said. “When I think back to Franklin Roosevelt talking about helping Europe in World War II, and the garden hose story, that if your neighbor’s house is on fire and he comes over to borrow a garden hose, you don’t ask questions about, ‘Well, am I going to get this back in one piece?’ and ‘How are you going to use it?’ You give him the garden hose.” 

Harvie’s speech is peppered with historical references like this, a folksy nod to his time in the classroom. And like his days as an educator, he said his biggest accomplishment in local government — starting as a member of the Falls Township Planning Commission more than two decades ago — is responding to individuals and their needs.

“I’d like to believe that I’ve made each of the governments I’ve worked in, at the local township level and the county level, more responsive to the needs of the people, trying to be more proactive, other than just reactive,” Harvie said. “I know there’s clearly people in this country who feel afraid to be who they are, and someone’s got to stand up to do something.”