Bucks County power struggle could hint at shifting suburban politics for 2024

An obscure race for county commissioner underway here in a suburb outside of Philadelphia could tell us a lot about who will win the presidential election in 2024.

Bucks County is one of the swingiest counties in one of the swingiest states in America.

President Joe Biden won it in 2020. So did Sen. John Fetterman and Gov. Josh Shapiro two years later. But it’s represented by a Republican in Congress, perennial battlegrounder Brian Fitzpatrick, and conservatives staged a takeover of the county’s largest school board in 2021, banning what it calls “sexualized content” in the curriculum.

This year it is home to a local race that has the hallmarks of a race for national office: Candidates sparring over book bans in schools, crime and public safety, and the security of democracy in the next presidential election.