(The Center Square) – As control of the U.S. House beyond 2026 may hinge upon a few races in Pennsylvania, an influential conservative organization has given grades to each incumbent.
And a pair of Republicans in battleground districts received widely different scores.
Heritage Action, the advocacy partner organization of the Heritage Foundation, released its Legislative Scorecard for the 119th Congress.
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-10th District, received a 96% grade, the highest score of any member in the state’s congressional delegation. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st District, received a 23% score, which is the lowest grade of any Pennsylvania Republican and tied with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for the lowest among any Republican serving in either chamber.
“The Heritage Action Scorecard is the ultimate litmus test for whether conservatives in Congress are in alignment with their campaign promises,”said Kevin Roberts, President of Heritage Action.
“The American people elected majority Republican Congress with clear expectations—this Scorecard shows, in no uncertain terms, lawmakers who are meeting those expectations and those who are falling short,” he added.
Roberts and the Heritage Foundation garnered headlines nationwide in the campaign ahead of the 2024 presidential election as a result of their “Project 2025” vision, which laid out a right-wing roadmap of legislative priorities for Donald Trump and Republicans after the election.
Trump attempted to distance himself from the organization and the controversial 900-pages of policy reshaping government during the campaign, claiming he had “nothing to do with Project 2025,” although BBC reports that he nominated several of its authors to key government positions.
Heritage Action has issued 12 “key votes” and eight “key co-sponsorships,” marked in its scorecard, which includes how members voted on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, rescissions, the SAVE America Act, repealing COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies, and more.
Perry favored a significant majority of those proposals, while Fitzpatrick rejected most of those “key votes” championed by the conservative organization.
Despite their vastly different scores, the two Republicans have one thing in common: closely watched re-election campaigns.
Perry, the former chairman of the conservative U.S. House Freedom Caucus seeking an eighth term in Congress, had his closest election in 2024 by defeating Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former central Pennsylvania television anchor, by 1.2 points.
A rematch between Perry and Stelson may be on the horizon in 2026 for the 10th District and national ratings outlets, like the Cook Political Report, describe the race as a “toss-up.”
Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the bipartisan U.S. House Problem Solvers Caucus, will be seeking a sixth term in Congress this fall. The 1st District, located in the suburbs north of Philadelphia, voted for Kamala Harris by a narrow margin in the 2024 presidential election, while sending Fitzpatrick back to Congress.
Fitzpatrick is one of three Republicans nationwide, and the only in Pennsylvania, to represent a district Harris won over Trump in 2024. Inside Elections, another national ratings outlet, describes the race in the 1st Congressional District as “Lean Republican.”
A pair of freshman GOP lawmakers is also expected to be in competitive races in the fall.
U.S. Reps. Rob Bresnahan, R-8th District, is seeking a second term representing northeast Pennsylvania, while Ryan Mackenzie, R-7th District, is hoping to win a second term for the Lehigh Valley based-seat.
Mackenzie and Bresnahan both voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the rescissions package but against ending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Mackenzie has a 58% score from Heritage Action, while Bresnahan has a 46% grade.
The Cook Political Report describes Mackenzie’s race as a “toss-up,” while Inside Elections rates Bresnahan’s reelection bid as “tilt Republican.”
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa. who won’t be on the ballot again until 2030, received a 94% grade, which is the second-highest among Pennsylvania elected officials.
The entire Democratic delegation in Pennsylvania received a “0%” from the organization.
