Matt Schickling, the Wire
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, former Bucks County Commissioner Andy Warren announced his campaign to run for the 8th Congressional District.
The 72-year-old made his announcement at Shady Brook Farm in Lower Makefield Tuesday morning, making him the first Republican candidate to do so.
“My goal is to follow Mike Fitzpatrick, not replace Mike Fitzpatrick,” Warren said.
Two Democrats have already announced their candidacy to take the place of Fitzpatrick, who is serving his fourth term in Congress and will not seek another. They are state Rep. Steve Santarsiero (D-31st dist.) of Lower Makefield and Shaughnessy Naughton, a Point Pleasant native who ran in the 2014 8th District race and narrowly lost the Democratic primary to Kevin Strouse.
Warren laid out a 10-point pledge he created several years ago as the basis for his candidacy. He said it reflects the standards by which he held candidates in previous elections as a voter.
The main points of emphasis of this pledge are limiting campaign budgets, supporting domestic oil and gas exploration, job creation, investing in transportation and infrastructure and making U.S. defense a priority.
He also said that, if elected, he will vote on bills he has read, understands and can explain and only if they have been available to the public for 72 hours. In addition to this, Warren said he would put the interests of Bucks County first and refuse campaign contributions from political action committees that are not located within the 8th District.
“I will serve as a congressional representative from Bucks County who happens to be a member of the Republican caucus, not a member of the Republican caucus who happens to be from Bucks County,” he said.
Warren was a teacher at William Tennent High School from 1965 to 1980 before becoming a Bucks County commissioner. He served as commissioner for 15 years and also coached the cross country and track and field teams at Tennent until 1995, which overlapped with Fitzpatrick’s time as commissioner for about a year. He then moved to work for PennDOT and is now executive director for the PENJERDEL Council.
This is not Warren’s first Congressional race. He ran for the 8th District seat in 2006 as a Democrat and lost by a large margin to Democrat Patrick Murphy. He also tried a second stint as Bucks County Commissioner as a Democrat in 2007, but lost that race as well.
Now Warren is back on the Republican side and is gearing up for a people-focused campaign, with no campaign office, yard signs, bumper stickers or other fanfare until the Bucks County Commissioners races conclude in November, calling it a “disservice to those running this year.” Instead, he seeks to use his voice to spread the message of his campaign until the congressional race approaches.
“I will be very visible and very available to everybody,” he said. “I will be working to prove that I am viable to serve the 8th District.”
Though no other Republicans have officially announced candidacy, it’s hard to imagine Warren running unopposed in the primary. State Rep. Scott Petri and Republican Tom Manion are both rumored to be considering a bid.
“For half a century Bucks County has been my home. I’ve explored Bucks through a variety of experiences. Exploration is over,” Warren said. “Respectfully, I ask for your time, your funding if you got it and most of all, your vote.”
Editor’s note: Warren clarified his statement to say that he would use an office, signs and other promotion strategies after the Commissioners races.
