2026-10-24T10:30:16.196Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
宾夕法尼亚州奎克敦——
共和党众议员布莱恩·菲茨帕特里克正穿行于秋季街头嘉年华的人群中，一名男子因生活成本飞涨而怒不可遏地拦住了他。
戴夫·伍兹是一名承包商、注册民主党人，他举着写有白色大号字体的红色牌子，在菲茨帕特里克面前展示过去一年里他的取暖油和柴油成本涨了多少。但菲茨帕特里克转身走开，准备去发表演说。
“菲茨帕特里克先生来这里拍照了吗？”伍兹在争执结束后对CNN记者说道，“我反对造成这一切的那个政党。”
往街的另一头走，过去曾支持过这位议员的注册共和党人泰德·瓦斯默正在权衡11月选举的投票意向。瓦斯默从事的木工业务因特朗普政府的关税政策和不断上涨的通货膨胀受到沉重打击。瓦斯默是一名从未支持过唐纳德·特朗普总统的退伍军人，他称伊朗战争是“绝对的笑话”。
“现在的华盛顿特区简直是场闹剧，”瓦斯默说道，“我可能会投票反对共和党掌控国会，以此作为约束政府的方式。不过我对民主党也没什么好感。我觉得左右两派现在都已失控，所以我必须认真考虑之后再做决定。”
菲茨帕特里克是国会中仅有的几名在2024年卡玛拉·哈里斯获胜的选区争取连任的共和党人之一——民主党人将此视为十年来赢得该席位的最佳机会。
最近一天的竞选活动跟随这位议员的经历，让人得以深入了解这位弱势共和党人如何在本党面临政治环境恶劣的情况下，试图守住他位于费城郊区的关键选区。伍兹并非唯一向这位议员抱怨的不满选民。但菲茨帕特里克认为，只要与所属政党保持距离并试图找到共同点，他就能保住席位。
“如果他们对皮特·赫格斯思感到愤怒，就冲他去发泄；如果他们对唐纳德·特朗普或乔·拜登或卡玛拉·哈里斯感到愤怒，就去投票箱前对他们发泄，但不要迁怒于既不是他们的人、也从未认同过他们观点的人。”菲茨帕特里克在接受CNN内容广泛的采访时如此表示。
菲茨帕特里克称自己在两党体系中属于“政治流浪者”，他表示，如果宾夕法尼亚州开放初选给独立选民，并降低独立候选人获得选票的门槛，他会注册为独立人士。
“我从18岁起注册为共和党人，但这么做是因为罗纳德·里根。那个政党早已不复存在了。”菲茨帕特里克说道。
不过民主党人计划利用他的政党 affiliation（党派身份）来打击他。在全国范围内，民主党人对赢得众议院越来越有信心，他们希望选民对现状的担忧会导致共和党失利。一项最新CNN民调显示，特朗普的支持率创下历史新低，选民对经济和国家状况表达了广泛不满，距离共和党统一控制联邦政府已近两年。
菲茨帕特里克的民主党挑战者、巴克斯县专员鲍勃·哈维希望利用选民的挫败感和对支持共和党候选人的抵触情绪，拿下这个选区，为本党夺回众议院多数席位再迈进一步。
“他变了。和我们当初把他送到这里时的那个家伙不一样了。你知道，他本应作为前联邦调查局特工反对腐败，可现在这是美国历史上最腐败的政府。他对此毫无作为。”哈维告诉CNN，“他没有为这里的民众挺身而出，再加上这个国家的情绪和人们感受到的痛苦，与以往任何时候都截然不同。”
菲茨帕特里克此前曾挺过全国性的逆风，包括2018年民主党夺回国众议院多数的“蓝色浪潮”。不过民主党人认为，他现在试图与本党划清界限的举措，或许不足以克服许多选民发自内心的愤怒，因此他们六年来首次在这场竞选中投入巨资。根据广告追踪公司AdImpact的数据，自9月以来，民主党在广告上的支出已超过1000万美元。民主党籍州长乔希·夏皮罗也在这场竞选中投入大量资金，并在竞选活动中与哈维一同露面。
一位参与众议院竞选的民主党策略师表示，民主党人在进入竞选最后阶段时就已明白，巴克斯县选民有到最后才做决定的历史，这在一定程度上解释了为何全国民主党团体在最后几周开始大幅增加该选区的支出。
为抵御民主党资金的涌入，共和党筹款机构也加入进来，根据联邦选举委员会的文件，包括超级政治行动委员会（PAC）MAGA Inc.提供的10万美元，以及本月早些时候共和党外部竞选机构提供的490万美元用于投放广告。这场竞选已变得何等艰难，从一个迹象可见一斑：菲茨帕特里克在7月至9月期间动用了自己的500万美元竞选资金。
“他们之所以发动攻击，是因为认为目前的环境对他们而言是明智的投资。”菲茨帕特里克谈及民主党时表示，“所以，他们才这么想。”
两位候选人都提出了辩论邀请，但从未面对面交锋过。前联邦调查局特工菲茨帕特里克声称，哈维曾接受过联邦调查局调查，而哈维表示自己从未接受过，并指责菲茨帕特里克在炒冷饭。
不过电视上的相互攻击和网上的姿态表演未必会转化为实际影响。周六，两人在布里斯托尔的一场活动中等待发言时偶然相遇，他们都无视了对方。
宾夕法尼亚州的四个摇摆选区可能是11月控制众议院的关键。
从纸面看，菲茨帕特里克的席位本应是民主党最容易拿下的，毕竟这个选区倾向左翼，但这位议员的投票记录和 endorsement（背书）名单让民主党很难轻易给他贴上标签。多位民主党策略师和消息人士称，民主党私下承认这是他们在该州最难打的一场竞选。
菲茨帕特里克是7月份投票反对特朗普标志性的税收和联邦支出削减方案（被称为“伟大美丽法案”）的两名众议院共和党人之一，尽管他曾在5月份决定性地投票支持过该法案在众议院通过的早期版本。他曾投票限制特朗普对伊朗的战争，但这是在使用武力的60天期限已过且未经国会授权的情况下。
他最近签署了一项新的努力，要求投票公布更多杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的相关文件。他最初并未支持一项强制要求司法部发布数百万页文件的努力，但当该提案提交到众议院全体会议时，他确实投票支持了更早的爱泼斯坦文件提案。他还多次帮助民主党人将他们的立法提交到众议院全体会议。在本届国会中，菲茨帕特里克签署的 discharge petitions（ discharge petition是绕过众议院共和党领导层、将法案提交全院投票的程序）比任何其他共和党人都多。
他很早就发出警告称，共和党没有应对可负担性危机的计划，并与众议院民主党人合作，试图延长2025年底到期的《平价医疗法案》扩大补贴。他是乌克兰的坚定拥护者，誓言要取消特朗普不受欢迎的18亿美元赔偿基金，批评者称该基金将用于支付总统盟友。他是唯一一位获得美国最大劳工联盟联合会美国劳工联合会-产业工会联合会（AFL-CIO）背书的联邦竞选共和党人。2024年，菲茨帕特里克投票支持前联合国大使妮基·黑利竞选总统，拒绝了特朗普。
宣布脱离民主党成为独立人士的前参议员乔·曼钦告诉CNN，他支持菲茨帕特里克，是因为他们在国会的良好合作关系。
“我不看党派，我看这个人，说实话，布莱恩是合适的人选。我甚至不认识另一位先生。我相信他是正直的人。我从不公开反对任何人。我只知道，当你遇到一个合适的人时，就应该留住他。”曼钦告诉CNN，“如果对国家有利，民主党人能与布莱恩合作，也能与任何人合作。”
哈维试图抨击菲茨帕特里克的投票记录，辩称他反对本党的投票要么前后不一，要么无法改变结果。他质疑菲茨帕特里克既然声称是独立声音，为何还接受共和党的资金。虽然菲茨帕特里克在选区各处与各类团体会面，但哈维质疑问这位议员为何多年来从未召开过正式市政厅会议。
“我真不知道他上一次投出对总统有影响的票是什么时候。”哈维辩称，“总统和（众议院议长）迈克·约翰逊已在他的竞选活动中投入数百万美元来支持他，因为他们担心他会输掉。所以，如果他真那么独立，为什么不把钱退回来呢？”
两位候选人在选举日之前的最后两周都有大量工作要做。即使广告和竞选活动不断，选区仍有选民表示尚未做出决定。
但一些菲茨帕特里克的支持者尤其为难，因为他们对特朗普和共和党整体感到不满。
退休空军军官纳撒尼尔·加格姆是注册共和党人，过去曾投票支持菲茨帕特里克，但他表示自己对政府的一些军事行动及其对待退伍军人的方式感到震惊。加格姆称特朗普是“逃兵役者”，对特朗普解雇参谋长联席会议主席C·Q·布朗将军感到愤怒。他表示伊朗战争本不应发生，他无法相信国防部长皮特·赫格斯思计划将处决队伍的公开直播列入议程（特朗普在公众抗议后取消了直播计划）。
“我很不满，”加格姆说，他表示自己仍未决定，谈及菲茨帕特里克时他说道，“我因为看到国会的一些事情、你如何与国会一起投票、你如何支持特朗普以及你如何支持违背我们利益、我的利益、我的退伍军人的事情而产生了很多疑问。”
护士、注册自由党人贝基·伯格曾在以往选举中投票支持菲茨帕特里克。但她告诉CNN，过去两年她的成本变得更高，她担心特朗普政府的一些政策所针对的她的LGBTQ+朋友和家人的权利。
“老实说，我主要考虑的是让共和党人下台。投票前我会研究候选人，尽可能多地获取信息。但我不喜欢特朗普和他推行的很多政策。所以我想我只是想改变现状，”伯格告诉CNN。
对于那些希望本届选举浪潮之后仍能保持持久影响力的民主党人来说，一个潜在的警示信号是，许多宾夕法尼亚州选民表示将支持哈维，他们的支持更多是对当前环境的反应，而非对哈维本人的认可。
“我认为最重要的是，这更多不是支持鲍勃·哈维，而是反对菲茨帕特里克。我不认为他做了他声称想要做的所有事情，我觉得该给其他人一个机会了。”社交媒体经理朱莉娅·科拉多在谈及她计划投票给哈维时如此告诉CNN。
如果菲茨帕特里克能够挺过当前环境，那将是因为像乔这样的选民的支持，乔是一名70岁的退休环保署工作人员，周六他走向菲茨帕特里克，与他握手，并表示他可以将对特朗普的不满（他称特朗普为“卑鄙小人”）与这位议员本人区分开来。
“我是个现实主义者。我会逐个看待每个人。”他说道。
一些宾夕法尼亚州的民众对他们的领导人感到非常失望，以至于他们已经放弃了选举进程，计划要么不投票，要么写自己支持的候选人。
杰森·格林是一名有20年资历的餐馆老板，周末晚餐高峰期本应是生意最忙的时候，他却坐在兰霍恩那家空荡荡的芝士牛排店里。
“这种情况已经到了几乎不值得做生意的地步，”格林说道。
格林是注册独立人士，最初支持罗伯特·F·肯尼迪 Jr.，2024年投票支持了特朗普。他告诉CNN，他要求菲茨帕特里克和哈维将竞选活动筹集的钱捐给当地社区，但两人都拒绝了。他计划因此在选票上写另一个人的名字。
“我已经放弃了，”他说，“在我看来，他们两个都是白痴。就这么简单。我不干了。”
在距离选区约一小时车程的另一侧，43岁的约翰·巴查德决心不参加中期选举。
巴查德从事营销工作，从未注册过任何党派，曾投票支持民主党人和共和党人。2024年他投票支持了哈里斯；2020年他支持了前总统乔·拜登；过去他还支持过菲茨帕特里克。但现在，他对两党的不满已达到顶点，因为他表示两党都没有充分解决工人阶级的需求。他认为共和党向特朗普妥协，并批评民主党不够努力抗争。
“不是‘还有什么意义？’，而是‘我不想再手上沾血了’，因为每次我们选一边，在我看来，都无法平衡另一边的影响。需要有更多选择，”巴查德告诉CNN，“这个体制不适合任何人。”
但巴查德表示他仍然抱有希望。
“出于某种愚蠢的原因，作为千禧一代，我仍然热爱这个国家，仍然认为它能发挥作用。我认为这个实验很棒，只是走错了方向。”他说道。
The vulnerable House Republican trying to withstand the anger directed at his party
2026-10-24T10:30:16.196Z / CNN
QUAKERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA—
GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was weaving through the crowd of a fall street festival when he was confronted by a man enraged by the skyrocketing costs he’s experiencing.
Dave Woods, a contractor and registered Democrat, held up red signs with big white letters in Fitzpatrick’s face to show how his heating oil and diesel fuel costs have shot up in the last year. But Fitzpatrick walked away to head to his speech.
“Where’s Mr. Fitzpatrick to get in the photo shot here?” Woods told CNN after the exchange. “I’m against the party that caused this.”
Farther down the street, Ted Wassmer, a registered Republican who has supported the congressman in the past, was weighing his vote in the November election. Wassmer’s woodworking business has been hit hard by the Trump administration’s tariffs and rising inflation. A combat veteran who has never supported President Donald Trump, Wassmer called the Iran war an “absolute joke.”
“It’s a clown show in DC right now,” Wassmer said. “I may vote against Republicans having dominance of the Congress, that may be my decision to get the administration in check. And I’m not very happy with Democrats either. I kind of think the left and the right are running rampant right now, so I have to kind of really look at it.”
Fitzpatrick is one of the only Republicans in Congress fighting for reelection in a district Kamala Harris won in 2024 — and Democrats see this as their best chance in a decade to win the seat.
Following the congressman on a recent day of campaigning offered an inside look at how the vulnerable Republican is trying to hold onto his battleground district in the suburbs of Philadelphia despite a toxic political environment for his party. Woods was not the only frustrated voter to come up to the congressman with complaints. But Fitzpatrick believes he can keep his seat by distancing himself from his own party and attempting to find common ground.
“If they’re angry at Pete Hegseth, take it out on Pete Hegseth. If they’re angry at Donald Trump or Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, take it out on them at the ballot box, but don’t take it out on people that are not them that have never espoused their views,” Fitzpatrick told CNN in a wide-ranging interview.
Describing himself as politically homeless in the two-party system, Fitzpatrick says he would register as an independent if Pennsylvania opens its primaries to independent voters and lowers the threshold for independent candidates to get on the ballot.
“I’m a registered Republican from when I was 18, but I did that because of Ronald Reagan. That party no longer exists,” Fitzpatrick said.
But Democrats plan to use his party affiliation against him. Nationally, Democrats have become increasingly confident they will win the House, hoping that voter concerns over the status quo will lead to losses for Republicans. A new CNN poll found Trump’s approval rating stands at a record low, and voters express broad dissatisfaction with the economy and the state of the country nearly two years into unified GOP control of the federal government.
Fitzpatrick’s Democratic challenger, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, hopes to tap into voter frustration and reluctance to support the Republican ticket to flip the district and bring his party one step closer to reclaiming the House majority.
“He’s changed. He’s not the same guy he was when we sent him there. You know, he’s a guy that was supposed to fight against corruption as a former FBI agent, and this is the most corrupt administration in American history. And he’s not doing anything about it,” Harvie told CNN. “He hasn’t stood up for the people here, and plus we’ve got the mood of this country and the pain that people are feeling is different than anything that’s happened before.”
Fitzpatrick has withstood national headwinds before, including the blue wave of 2018 when Democrats flipped the House. Democrats believe, however, that his attempts to distance himself from his party now might not be enough to overcome the palpable anger of many of his constituents, and are investing millions in this race for the first time in six years as a result. Democrats have spent over $10 million in advertisements since September, according to AdImpact. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro has also invested heavily in the race and has appeared with Harvie on the campaign trail.
Democrats knew going into the final stretch that Bucks County voters have a history of making their decisions late in the game, which is in part why national Democratic groups started ramping up their spending in the district in the final weeks, according to a Democratic strategist working on House races.
To defend against the influx of Democratic cash, the Republican fundraising apparatus has parachuted in, including $100,000 from super PAC MAGA Inc., according to Federal Election Commission filings, and $4.9 million from the Republican outside campaign arm earlier this month for advertisements. In a sign of how difficult the race has become, Fitzpatrick spent $5 million of his own war chest between July and September.
“They take their shots when the climate is such that they think that, you know, that it’s a wise investment for them,” Fitzpatrick said of Democrats. “So, they think.”
The two candidates have not faced off directly to debate, even though both have made offers. Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent, has claimed Harvie has been the subject of an FBI investigation, while Harvie says he never was and argues Fitzpatrick is trying to recycle old claims.
But all of the mudslinging on television and posturing online hasn’t necessarily translated to real life. On Saturday, when the two candidates had a chance encounter as they both waited to speak at an event in Bristol, they ignored each other.
Four swing districts in Pennsylvania could be key to winning control of the House in November.
On paper, Fitzpatrick’s seat should be the easiest for Democrats to flip given his left-leaning district, but the congressman’s voting record and endorsement list make it difficult for Democrats to easily put him in a box, and Democrats privately concede this is their hardest race in the state, according to multiple Democratic operatives and sources.
Fitzpatrick was one of two House Republicans to vote against Trump’s signature package of tax and federal spending cuts in July, dubbed the “big beautiful bill,” even though he was a decisive vote for an earlier version of the legislation that passed the House in May. He has voted to rein in Trump’s war with Iran, but only after it passed the 60-day clock on the use of military force without congressional authorization.
He recently signed on to a new effort to force a vote on releasing more of the Jeffrey Epstein files. He did not back an initial effort to force a vote to compel the Justice Department to release millions of pages of files, but he did vote in favor of that earlier Epstein files push when it came to the floor. And on multiple occasions, he has helped Democrats bring their legislation to the floor. Fitzpatrick has signed on to more discharge petitions — a maneuver to circumvent House GOP leadership to bring bills to the floor — than any other Republican this Congress.
He was early to sound the alarm that Republicans did not have a plan to address the affordability crisis, and he worked with Democrats in the House to try to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. He is a fierce advocate for Ukraine and vowed to end Trump’s unpopular $1.8 billion compensation fund that critics said would be used to pay out the president’s allies. He’s the only Republican running for federal office to receive an endorsement from the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the country. In 2024, Fitzpatrick voted for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley for president, snubbing Trump.
Former Sen. Joe Manchin, who dropped his Democratic party affiliation to become an independent, told CNN that he endorsed Fitzpatrick because of their strong working relationship in Congress.
“I don’t look at the party, I look at the person, and I got to be honest with you, Brian is just the right person to be serving. I don’t even know the other gentleman. I’m sure he’s an upstanding person. I never go out and campaign against anybody. I just know when you’ve got a good one, you ought to keep him,” Manchin told CNN. “The Democrats will be able to work with Brian as well as they will anybody else if it’s good for our country.”
Harvie has looked to poke holes in Fitzpatrick’s voting record and argued that his votes against his party either are inconsistent or don’t change the outcome. He has questioned why Fitzpatrick is receiving money from the Republican Party if he claims to be an independent voice. And while Fitzpatrick meets with various groups throughout the district, Harvie has questioned why the congressman hasn’t held a formal town hall in years.
“I don’t really know the last time he’s cast a vote that matters against the president,” Harvie argued. “The president and (House Majority Leader) Mike Johnson have been putting millions of dollars into his campaign to boost him up because they’re afraid he’s going to lose. So, if he’s really that independent, why doesn’t he give that money back?”
Both candidates have their work cut out for them in the final two weeks before Election Day. Even with the onslaught of ads and campaign events, there are still voters in the district who say they haven’t made up their minds.
But some of Fitzpatrick’s supporters are having a particularly hard time given their broader frustrations with Trump and the Republican Party.
Retired Air Force member Nathaniel Gagum is a registered Republican who has voted for Fitzpatrick in the past but says he has been horrified by some of the administration’s military actions and its treatment of veterans. Gagum, who referred to Trump as a “draft dodger,” is furious that Trump fired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown. He says the Iran war should never have happened, and he could not believe Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth outlined plans for a public livestream of a firing squad execution. (Trump later called off the plan for the livestream after public outcry.)
“I’m upset,” Gagum, who said he is still undecided, told CNN. Referring to Fitzpatrick, he said, “I’m questioning a lot because of some of the things I see in Congress and how you vote with Congress, and how you side with Trump, and you side with things that goes against our interests, my interests, my veterans.”
Becky Berg, a nurse and a registered Libertarian, has voted for Fitzpatrick in previous elections. But she told CNN her costs have gotten more expensive in the last two years, and she is worried about the rights of her LGBTQ+ friends and family who she says have been targeted by some of the Trump administration’s policies.
“Honestly, I’m just thinking about getting Republicans out of office for the most part. I will, before I vote, I will look into the candidates and try and be as informed as I can be. But I am not a fan of Trump and a lot of the policies he has been pushing. So, I’m kind of just looking at changing the current regime,” Berg told CNN.
In a potential warning sign for Democrats hoping for staying power beyond a potential wave this cycle, a number of Pennsylvania voters who said they were going to support Harvie said their support was more reactionary to the current environment than about Harvie himself.
“I think the biggest thing is it’s less about pro-Bob Harvie and more anti-Fitzpatrick. I just don’t think that he does everything that he’s claimed that he’s wanted to do, and I think it’s time for somebody else to be given a shot,” Julia Corrado, a social media manager, told CNN of her intended vote for Harvie.
If Fitzpatrick is able to overcome the environment, it will be because of voters like Joe, a 70-year-old retired EPA worker, who went up to Fitzpatrick on Saturday to shake his hand and share that he can separate his frustration with Trump (whom he called a “slime ball”) from the congressman.
“I’m a realist. I look at each individual,” he said.
Some Pennsylvanians have felt so let down by their leaders that they have given up on the electoral process and plan either not to vote or to write in their own candidate.
Jason Green, a restaurant owner of 20 years, sat in his empty cheesesteak shop in Langhorne during what should have been the middle of a weekend dinnertime rush.
“It’s at the point where it’s almost not worth being in business,” Green said.
Green, a registered independent, voted for Trump in 2024 after initially supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He told CNN he challenged both Fitzpatrick and Harvie to donate the money they were raising for their campaigns to the local community, but said both declined. He plans to write in a different name on the ballot as a result.
“I’ve checked out,” Green said. “They’re both idiots in my eyes. Simple as that. I’m done.”
About an hour away on the opposite side of the district, John Barchard, 43, was resolved in his decision to not participate in the midterm election.
Barchard, who works in marketing, has never been registered with either party and has voted for both Democrats and Republicans. He voted for Harris in 2024; in 2020, he supported former Joe Biden; and he’s supported Fitzpatrick in the past. But now, his frustration with both parties has reached a boiling point because he says neither has done enough to address the needs of the working class. He views Republicans as having capitulated to Trump and criticizes Democrats for not fighting hard enough.
“It’s not a ‘what’s the point?’ It’s, ‘I don’t want blood on my hands anymore’ because every time we vote one way, it doesn’t balance out the other, in my opinion. And there needs to be more options,” Barchard told CNN. “The system is not working for anybody.”
But somehow, Barchard says he still has hope.
“For some dumb reason, as a millennial, I still love this country and I still think it works. I think the experiment is great and it’s taken a wrong turn,” he said.