Political Lessons from Bucks County
In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Allegheny County are the top two counties based on population. But in terms of a populous suburban area, Bucks County isn’t far behind in size. This past year, the county has made its share of political headlines, from culture wars in school districts to the political realignment occurring in Lower Bucks.
Bucks has been pivotal in statewide electoral politics. Trump barely lost the county in 2016, lost it in 2020, and then proved victorious in 2024. Bucks is also home of the famous McDonald’s campaign stop, where Trump was salting and slinging fries at the drive-thru window. As my GOP Chair Series continues, I spoke with Pat Poprik to better understand how Donald Trump took the suburban bellwether.
The interview has been edited for clarity.
Right behind Philadelphia County and Allegheny County for political impact in Pennsylvania is Bucks County. In 2020, voter turnout in Bucks reached a record 81.4%, and 2024 came close to matching that proportion, if not beating it. But the results this time were different: Donald Trump won Bucks after losing it in 2020. What changed?
Many more Republicans came out and voted for him this time compared with 2020, and many Democrats switched their vote to Republican. Plus, voter registration was off the charts. We had a 14,000-voter swing from where we were in 2020. We began developing a realistic expectation that we could do this in February 2024. Scott Pressler did tremendous work in this regard. Republicans did well in some unusual places – Bristol Township, Bristol borough. The key issues were the border and the economy. Voter action was paramount: among those who change their registration, 90% then turn out to vote. They were unhappy with the Democrats, and we saw change in large quantity.
In Bucks County, school boards have seen their share of culture wars recently. Democrats had taken control in the last school board elections. How much did social issues factor into the results this time around?
People saw the results of these things and didn’t like them. Men out of women sports. DEI culture. People want to be fair and equitable, but the left went too far. Do you want the best or the checkmarks? President Trump said enough was enough. Girls competing vs men was the final straw. The boxer in the Olympics. It was in your face and change was inevitable.
304 precincts and 54 voting districts: were there any statistics in any demo that jumped out to you specifially, that might be an outlier or even a future trend in the county moving forward?
The lower end came out strong for Trump. Latino voters. Democrats took them for advantage. Bensalem, Morrisville, Bristol, etc. We saw the gains. Lower Southampton. Union members who were disgruntled. Trump was much more appealing. Get rid of EV mandates, get oil pumping, union households saw the writing on the wall.
Do you believe Pennsylvania is still a purple state? how would you characterize where the keystone state is heading?
Purple trending red. The west is red. It was blue back in the day. Washington, Beaver, etc. Chester is only down 4,000 in registration. There’s a people movement. People are waking up. Fell flat on their face. It was a short-lived experiment.
