Republicans’ defense of the ‘Biden 16’ House districts starts with Pennsylvania’s primary election WFTV [Video]

NEW HOPE, Pa. — (AP) — Mark Houck makes a potent appeal to conservative Republicans in this corner of eastern Pennsylvania when he describes his arrest and subsequent acquittal on federal charges that he pushed a Planned Parenthood volunteer outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic.

The account has become a staple of Houck’s first-time bid for the U.S. House in suburban Philadelphia, a central battleground of the 2024 election, from the presidency on down.

“I’m telling you this because this is how I became a target of the federal government — the weaponization of the government,” he said at a meeting last week of the New Hope Solebury Republican Club.

Houck’s campaign to unseat fourth-term Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Tuesday’s primary could offer hints about swing-district Republican sentiment in one of the most volatile White House races in years.

With few truly competitive House seats in play, the 1st Congressional District that …