In an internal poll sponsored by the campaign, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-01) has a sizable lead over Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz in the race for the 1st Congressional District seat in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The three-term incumbent Republican has a 14-point advantage (54-40%) over Ehasz, the Army war veteran and former Apache helicopter pilot. That figure also includes a 56-33% lead among independent voters.
Fitzpatrick held a 15-point edge (51-36%) over Ehasz in a June internal conducted by Grassroots Targeting.
According to pollster Public Opinion Strategies (POS), Ehasz has struggled to gain traction with voters in the district, as the survey showed that nearly two-thirds (67%) of respondents said they have never heard of her. Those who were aware of her gave her a favorability rating of plus-14 (19-5%), while Fitzpatrick’s numbers were a tick higher at plus-16 (50-34%).
Reproductive rights has been a major policy position for the challenger, but POS said that more than 7-in-10 respondents (73%) support Fitzpatrick’s position of upholding Pennsylvania’s current law that allows abortions up to 24 weeks into pregnancy. Those surveyed by POS were told that Ehasz wishes to abolish that statute and allow for abortions anytime during a woman’s pregnancy. Just under one-quarter of respondents (23%) agreed with that statement.
On her website, Ehasz’s stance is that she will support H.R. 3755, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would federally codify Roe v. Wade. Under that legislation, states could regulate abortion after viability, which is generally considered to be between 24 to 28 weeks after a patient’s last menstrual period.
“Brian Fitzpatrick is skewing polls, publishing results that cannot be trusted, and, yet again, lying about his anti-abortion record,” said Victoria Casarrubias, a spokesperson for the Ehasz campaign. “Just like the vast majority of PA-01 voters, Ashley believes these decisions should be made by a woman and her doctor, not by politicians. If anyone in this race is interested in overturning Pennsylvania state law, it’s Brian Fitzpatrick, who has already voted for a national abortion ban.”
The pollster concluded a memo to the campaign by stating that with “the Fitzpatrick campaign still sitting on more than $3 million cash-on-hand, it seems an awfully steep climb for Ehasz to make this a competitive race.”
The survey was in the field on Sept. 7-9 and was conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS). The firm completed a telephone survey of 400 registered voters in the district and has a margin of error of +/-4.0.
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One Response
Brian Fitzpatrick is not in favor of Abortion or Reproductive Rights. He supports a nationwide ban on abortion. He is conducting a “stealth campaign,” to win re-election. He is not a “problem solver,” nor an “independent voice.” He is a snake and sneaky in his support of Trump and Trumpism. He won’t debate Ashley Ehasz, because his positions and his record are not in alignment with the values and needs of his constituents of the 1 St Congressional District. He represents the will and needs of Trump, the corporations and the 1%, who fund his campaign. It is time for him to go. He is unfit to be in office. We need a Congressperson who upholds the rule of law and honors the oath they take to the Constitution “to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from against all enemies both foreign and domestic.” Something neither Trump nor Brian Fitzpatrick has done.