Ehasz picks up 9 endorsements from state and local Democrats

Democrat and U.S. Army veteran Ashley Ehasz received endorsements from nine state and local Democratic officials on Thursday, City & State has learned, adding to her growing list of endorsements as she eyes a rematch against Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick this fall. 

Five sitting representatives from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives – state Reps. Tim Brennan, Steve Malagari, Brian Munroe, Jim Prokopiak and Perry Warren – all endorsed Ehasz on Thursday, as did several elected officials and party leaders at the county level. 

Ehasz, who is running in the state’s 1st Congressional District, also earned the backing of Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia, as well as endorsements from Montgomery County Commissioners Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder, and Montgomery County Democratic Committee Chair Jason Salus.

The Democratic officials praised Ehasz for her military service – she’s a West Point graduate and former Apache helicopter pilot who served in the Iraq War – while also touting her support for affordable health care, abortion access and reproductive rights, voting rights and gun safety legislation.

Salus said in a statement that he was “thrilled” to back Ehasz in the 1st Congressional District race. “Ashley will be a fantastic addition to our Democratic Congresswomen in Montgomery County and will fight to protect democracy, workers’ rights, reproductive rights, and so much more in Washington. I’m excited to work with her to flip this seat in November!”

Malagari said Ehasz has the “has the public service experience needed” to serve voters in the district. “She’ll work hard to support workers and small businesses, protect reproductive rights and serve our community,” he said.

This cycle, Ehasz has also picked up a slate of national endorsements, including from Emily’s List, which endorsed Ehasz in February, as well as the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the New Dems Action Fund, VoteVets and Elect Democratic Women, among others. 

In a statement, Ehasz said she was honored to receive endorsements from the state and local officials, adding that the 1st District “is lucky to have such dedicated representation in Harrisburg and at the county level.”

“These folks intimately understand the needs of our community, and I look forward to working with them to deliver for the hardworking families of Bucks and Montgomery counties at the federal, state and local level,” Ehasz said. 

The endorsements come on the heels of a successful fundraising haul for Ehasz, who previously ran against Fitzpatrick in the 2022 congressional election cycle, falling short in the general election. This time around, Ehasz raised $662,647.17 in the first quarter, bringing her total amount of cash on hand to $820,363.56 at the close of the reporting period, which spanned from Jan. 1 to April 3. 

The $662,000 and change raised by Ehasz in the first quarter is more than any Democratic candidate has raised in the district during the same reporting period dating back to at least 2014, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission fundraising records. 

In 2014, when the southeastern Pennsylvania district was the 8th Congressional District, Democrats Kevin Strouse and Shaughnessy Naughton raised $115,193.07 and $124,952.56 in total contributions in the first quarter, respectively. In another run for the same office in 2016, Naughton raised $384,176.02, while Democrat and current state Sen. Steve Santarsiero brought in $428,079.19 in contributions in the pre-primary period that same year.

During the 2018 election cycle, Democrats Scott Wallace and Rachel Reddick raised $195,486.50 and $160,784.79 in the first quarter, respectively. And in 2020, Christina Finello raised $95,871.00 in total contributions in Q1. In the first quarter of 2022, Ehasz raised $110,320.76.

Ehasz campaign adviser Hannah Jeffrey said in a statement that Ehasz’s $662,000 haul in 2024 shows voters are enthusiastic about her chances in the fall. 

"It’s a major win to have raised this much so early in the campaign,” Jeffrey said. “Ashley just set a record in PA-01, raising more in one quarter than any Democratic challenger has ever raised in the primary – proving that she has the support and resources behind her in 2024 and that voters are more ready than ever before to elect a pro-choice candidate.”

Fitzpatrick has also been an effective fundraiser this year, raising $783,523.91 in total contributions and another $221,569.26 from authorized committees in the first quarter, bringing his total amount of cash on hand at the end of the period to $3,650,761.05. 

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report currently has the 1st Congressional District rated “likely Republican” for 2024.