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Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick wins Republican primary in Pa. 1st District

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick won the Republican primary for the First Congressional District. Fitzpatrick will face off with Scott Wallace, who won the Democratic primary Tuesday night. It will be one of the most closely watched races come this fall as Democrats try to flip the U.S. House of Representatives from red to blue.

Brian Fitzpatrick (left) is congratulated at Republican headquarters in Doylestown on Election Night in 2016.
Brian Fitzpatrick (left) is congratulated at Republican headquarters in Doylestown on Election Night in 2016.Read moreCHARLES FOX / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick on Tuesday handily beat a challenger from the right in the First District Republican primary.

Dean Malik, a former assistant district attorney, argued during the campaign that he would be more supportive of President Trump but he barely raised any money.

Fitzpatrick's reelection bid in the swing district in Bucks County will be one of the most closely watched races come this fall as Democrats try to flip the U.S. House of Representatives from red to blue.

Freshman candidates are often vulnerable during their first reelection but Fitzpatrick has the benefit that he shares the same last name as the previous incumbent, his brother Mike. In 2006, during his first term, Mike Fitzpatrick lost the seat in a blue wave election. Democrat Pat Murphy replaced him.

Four years later, Mike Fitzpatrick ran again and unseated Murphy. Then in 2016, Brian Fitzpatrick moved back from California to Bucks County to run for his brother's seat.

Since then, however, the district has become a little more Democratic in its voting patterns.