Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s campaign in Pennsylvania has been running ads attacking his Democratic opponent, Bob Harvie, based on unverified posts by Dave Sommers on Patch, a local news platform where members can self-publish. Sommers is a convicted felon and former journalist who has close ties to the Fitzpatrick family; he received financial support from Brian and his late brother Mike’s campaigns and was recently at Brian’s wedding. The article highlights Sommers's extensive racist, sexist, and Islamophobic social media content, suggesting that these biased posts are influencing Fitzpatrick’s campaign strategy.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In a controversial move, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick's campaign ran ads attacking his Democratic opponent, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, by claiming Harvie is under FBI investigation, despite no evidence supporting this claim. These ads cite articles from Patch, a hyperlocal news platform where anyone can self-publish without fact-checking. The articles were written by Dave Sommers, 72, who has close ties to Fitzpatrick and received thousands of dollars in payments from the Fitzpatrick campaigns between 2010 and 2022. Sommers is also a convicted turtle smuggler, adding to the controversy surrounding the ad campaign's tactics. This political maneuver highlights growing concerns about unverified information being used in negative campaigning.
Written for “Political Attack Ads Controversy” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
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EVEN IN TODAY’S POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT of hyperpartisanship and negative campaigning, what’s happening in the suburbs of Philadelphia seems unprecedented.
left criticizes negative campaigning
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There’s no evidence of that. It turns out Fitzpatrick’s attack ads cite articles from Patch, a hyperlocal news platform that encourages members to self-publish on their local Patch page. The posts are not written by journalists employed by the media outlet. Nor were they fact-checked.
left questions the validity of campaign tactics
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The man behind the posts is former journalist and convicted turtle-smuggler Dave Sommers, 72, of Levittown, Pennsylvania.
left discredits the source of negative ads
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Sommers appears to be a family friend of Fitzpatrick’s. Between 2010 and 2022, Sommers received thousands of dollars in payments and reimbursements from Brian Fitzpatrick’s campaigns as well as the campaigns of his late brother, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick.
left reveals conflict of interest
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Sommers is one of only 141 people whom Brian Fitzpatrick follows on his official Instagram page. (Fitzpatrick’s own wife is not even on that list.)
left emphasizes unusual relationship
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A deep search of Sommers’s social media accounts reveals a disturbing pattern of sexist, racist, and Islamophobic posts.
left criticizes the character of the source
Leaning: leans strongly left for article 67774 (high confidence, 6 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-09
EVEN IN TODAY’S POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT of hyperpartisanship and negative campaigning, what’s happening in the suburbs of Philadelphia seems unprecedented.
asserted
happening → happen → Philadelphia
Last week, Politico reported that Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s campaign has been running ads attacking his Democratic opponent, Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie, by claiming Harvie is under investigation by the FBI.
asserted
Harvie → report → FBI
It turns out Fitzpatrick’s attack ads cite articles from Patch, a hyperlocal news platform that encourages members to self-publish on their local Patch page.
asserted
that → turn → page
The posts are not written by journalists employed by the media outlet.
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posts → write → outlet
Nor were they fact-checked.
asserted
they → check → ?
In fact, all of them were written by an individual with close personal and financial ties to Fitzpatrick.
asserted
all → write → Fitzpatrick
The man behind the posts is former journalist and convicted turtle-smuggler Dave Sommers, 72, of Levittown, Pennsylvania.
asserted
man → convict → Levittown
Sommers appears to be a family friend of Fitzpatrick’s.
asserted
Sommers → appear → Fitzpatrick
Between 2010 and 2022, Sommers received thousands of dollars in payments and reimbursements from Brian Fitzpatrick’s campaigns as well as the campaigns of his late brother, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick.
asserted
Sommers → receive → brother
The payments stopped the same year Sommers was charged with stealing a campaign sign belonging to Brian Fitzpatrick’s primary opponent.
asserted
Sommers → stop → opponent
That charge didn’t end the relationship between Fitzpatrick and Sommers, though.
asserted
charge → end → Fitzpatrick
This past summer, Sommers attended Fitzpatrick’s wedding to Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, posting pictures with the bride to his Facebook and Instagram accounts.
asserted
Sommers → attend → accounts
And in another video posted to Sommers’s Facebook page, he sports a tank top that reads “TEAM FITZ”—the name of Fitzpatrick’s joint fundraiser for his campaign and leadership PAC.
asserted
that → post → PAC
Sommers is one of only 141 people whom Brian Fitzpatrick follows on his official Instagram page.
asserted
Fitzpatrick → follow → page
Sommers also seems to have been close to Fitzpatrick’s older brother, Mike, who died in 2020.
asserted
who → seem → 2020
In a 2023 post on Instagram, Sommers called Mike Fitzpatrick his “brother.”
asserted
Sommers → call → Fitzpatrick
More broadly, Sommers’s Instagram features multiple photos of Fitzpatrick and other Bucks County Republican officials.
asserted
Instagram → feature → Fitzpatrick
A deep search of Sommers’s social media accounts reveals a disturbing pattern of sexist, racist, and Islamophobic posts.
asserted
search → reveal → posts
So who exactly is this guy who has been publishing lies that his friend Brian Fitzpatrick has been campaigning on?
asserted
friend → publish → that
Let’s get into it.
asserted
’s → let → it
The midterms are coming.
asserted
midterms → come → ?
Get the reporting, analysis, and conversations you won’t get anywhere else.
asserted
you → get → reporting
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you → hear → tickets
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