Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick Says He Would Leave GOP if Pennsylvania Had Open Primaries

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said he would leave the Republican Party and become an independent if Pennsylvania had an open primary, citing the state’s closed primary system as the reason he has not done so.

The Pennsylvania congressman made the remarks during a Fly Out Day conversation with Punchbowl News, when he was asked directly, “Why don’t you just become an Independent?” Fitzpatrick replied, “Because I live in a closed primary state.” When asked a follow-up — “Would you if you didn’t?” — he answered, “100% … 100%.”

In November 2025, Fitzpatrick publicly called on President Donald Trump to sideline senior adviser Steve Witkoff and instead elevate Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations. The statement followed a leak of a transcript of a call between Russian officials and Witkoff. The episode drew scrutiny over Fitzpatrick’s relationship with Jacqui Heinrich, his fiancée, as Fox News had previously stated she must avoid covering any stories involving him. The network issued a statement defending her prior reporting but declined to clarify whether she would be recused from ongoing coverage.

Fitzpatrick’s willingness to break with Republican leadership has been reflected in his legislative record, including a December 2025 vote in which he joined Democrats and three other Republicans to sign a discharge petition forcing a vote on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies. The move allowed the measure to bypass House leadership after internal negotiations failed, with Speaker Mike Johnson saying no agreement could be reached with centrist members. Fitzpatrick said he supported the petition after leadership rejected proposed amendments, stating that allowing the subsidies to expire without any bridge would be worse than extending them without reforms and that leadership had “forced this outcome.”

He has been listed among ten GOP backers of The Dignity Act, which opponents, including the Project for Immigration Reform and Brandon Gill, said would expand amnesty and increase foreign labor, while in 2022 he was identified as a supporter of the EAGLE Act, which the Federation for American Immigration Reform said would increase competition for American workers and benefit large corporations.

Fitzpatrick was one of three Republicans to support the 2021 Equality Act alongside Democrats, a measure that would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under federal civil rights law and would likely affect women’s sports, privacy in public facilities, and faith-based institutions.

That year, he also voted for a Democrat-backed gun control bill mandating universal background checks. The measure, H.R. 8, passed the House 227-203 with support from eight Republicans, including Fitzpatrick, who also co-sponsored the legislation. The bill expanded background check requirements to private firearm transactions, while opponents, including Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), warned it could function as a de facto national gun registry by involving the federal government in nearly all gun transfers.

Also in 2021, Fitzpatrick joined five other House Republicans to introduce a resolution to censure President Donald Trump over the January 6 events, saying Trump’s actions “threatened the integrity of our democracy,” and he later opposed efforts by some Republicans to impeach President Joe Biden, stating, “We shouldn’t even be talking about that” while emphasizing a focus on policy issues.