Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Vote has all eyes on Pennsylvania
MT. LEBANON, Pa. — Working-class voters across western Pennsylvania weighed in Tuesday on a congressional contest that pitted the strength of President Donald Trump’s grasp on blue-collar America against the energy and anger of the political left.
The fight between Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone and Democrat
Conor Lamb has drawn national attention as a bellwether for the midterm elections in November.
Polls closed at
7 p.m. Central time. Early results started trickling in an hour later.
In a region Trump carried by 20 points, the White House has scrambled to rally voters behind Saccone, who cast himself as the president’s “wingman” but has struggled at times to connect with the blue-collar coalition that fueled Trump’s victory little more than a year ago.
Lamb, a 33-year-old Marine veteran and former federal prosecutor, downplayed his opposition to the Republican president Tuesday and insisted instead that the race hinged on local issues.
“This didn’t have much to do with President Trump,” Lamb said after casting his vote in suburban Pittsburgh.
Because of a state court decision redrawing Pennsylvania’s congressional boundaries, the winner will have to start campaigning for re-election almost immediately in a different district. Still, the election has far greater political consequences as each party prepares for the November midterm elections.
For the White House and its Republican allies, a Tuesday loss would represent an embarrassment and cause for concern in the broader push to defend majorities in the U.S. House and Senate.
The president has campaigned in the district twice and sent several tweets on Saccone’s behalf. Other recent visitors include the vice president, the president’s eldest son, the president’s daughter and the president’s chief counselor. Outside groups aligned with Republicans have also poured millions of dollars into the contest.
For Democrats, a win would reverberate nationwide, while even a narrow loss would be viewed as a sign of increased Democratic enthusiasm just as the midterm season begins.
Democratic voter Brian Konick supported Trump in 2016. On Tuesday he voted for Lamb.
“He’s a little more my style, a little more moderate,” Konick, a 51-year-old Jefferson Hills resident, said of the Democratic candidate.
Registered Republican Brett Gelb voted for Saccone, largely because the Republican candidate promised to support the president.
“Saccone backs a lot of President Trump’s plans for the country,” said Gelb, a 48-year-old fire technician who lives in Mt. Lebanon. He added, “I do think Trump is doing a good job. I think he needs backup.”
Democrats must flip 24 GOP-held seats this fall to seize control of the House, and months ago few had counted on this Pittsburgh-area district to be in play. The seat has been in Republican hands for the past 15 years.
It is open now only because longtime Republican congressman Tim Murphy, who espoused strong anti-abortion views, resigned last fall amid revelations of an extramarital affair in which he urged his mistress to get an abortion.
After voting Tuesday in Allegheny County, Saccone downplayed the significance of the unusually close race.
“The Democrats … they’re throwing everything they can at this race,” he said. “There hasn’t been an open seat for a long time.”
Besides bruising the president, a Lamb defeat also could shake Republican self-assurance that their new tax law can shield them from other political woes.
Saccone, a 60-year-old Air Force veteran turned state lawmaker and college instructor, received enthusiastic backing from the social conservatives who’ve anchored his state career. He’s been perhaps at his most animated when emphasizing his opposition to abortion rights.
Yet Saccone struggled to raise money and stir the same passions that helped Trump on his way to the White House.