Conor Lamb enters 2022 U.S. Senate race ‘SERIOUS TIMES’
Starting the day at one of Western Pennsylvania’s foremost symbols of the cozy relationship between Democrats and organized laborand ending it at a town fair in a small borough outside of Meadville, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb framed his newfound candidacy for the Senate as a rallying cry for workersand a fight for democracy.
Mr. Lamb, the Mt. Lebanon Democrat and 17th District congressman who was long anticipated to announce a run for outgoingU.S. Sen. Pat Toomey’s seat, did so officially on Friday, telling a crowdof his supporters outside the IBEW Local 5 hall on the South Side that they need to defend freedoms that are under attack. He said Pennsylvanians have a right to be free from debt, poverty wages and COVID-19 and should be free to learn from a reliable internet connectionand drink clean water.
“If we want to live in a fairer country, we can build it,” Mr. Lamb said at the union hall, kickingoff a day of events. “If we want a bigger and stronger and more diverse middle class, we can make it that way. We’ve done it before, and we’lldo it again.”
The 37-year-old former Marine and federal prosecutor boasted that he’s won in tough territory for Democrats before and can
replicate it statewide. He embarked on a tour Friday evening to prove it, stopping at a restaurant in New Castle before visiting a fair in Cochranton.
But most of the attention in Western Pennsylvania will be on the congressman’s primary battle with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is laudedby some Democrats for galvanizing a more progressive wing of the party with his platform. Asked about voters who want someone really progressive on issues, Mr. Lamb said he will ask for voters to listen to him and that he’ll listen to them, adding that “we just got the most progressive piece of legislation — I think — of our lifetime” in the passage of the American Rescue Plan.
As soon as he announced his campaign, Mr. Lamb’s team rolled out dozens of endorsements from labor unions and local Democratic leaders, many of whom attended his events. That list included former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy, State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa and state senators Wayne Fontana and Jim Brewster.
Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, a close ally of local labor groups, endorsed Mr. Lamb and introduced him at his announcement rally, then followed him tohis evening events.
“In Congressman Lamb, don’t we have a person who’s not only won three very difficult races over the last few years, but we also know that this is someone who can win statewide?” Mr. Fitzgerald said.
As he spoke to supporters, Mr. Lamb sought to link the decadeslong success of organized labor to bring about positive change, as he put it, with the need to defend democracy. He criticized the many Republicans who tried to relitigate and overturn the 2020 election, a message that was the focus of a Friday morning video posted to his social media accounts. In that video, he said he believes Pennsylvania can help “save” democracy in the face of propaganda and lies by electing another Democratto the Senate.
“Here is the real danger: If they will take such a big lie and place it at the center of their party, you can’t expect them to tell the truth about anything else,” Mr. Lamb said, accusing the GOP and former President Donald Trump of holding back America’s progress by focusing on the past. One of the most pressing issues, he said, is racialinequality.
When Mr. Lamb announced his bid, Republicans almost universally shot back withthe same accusation: that he’s an extremist posing as a moderate, that he’s House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “right-hand man” and that he is too liberal to win statewide. It was similar to the messages Mr. Lamb’s opponents in past races ran on, to no success — asthe congressman won three straight races, including over Sean Parnell, who is now pursuingthe Republican nominationfor Senate.
Mr. Lamb is set to travel across the state in the coming days, and his message includes a reminder to Democrats that it’s not just their party that believes in higher wages, stopping racial injustices and halting climate change; it’s a majority of voters.
“You, in Lawrence County, can be confident about talking toanyone about those things,” Mr. Lamb said at the New Castlerestaurant.
His vote in passing the American Rescue Plan was a frequent talking point during Mr. Lamb’s first day on the trail. He spoke of the benefits to each specific area, telling New Castle that the money is helping Lawrence County replace water and sewer lines and expand rural broadband access.
In Cochranton, where the congressman made his way through the town fair alongside Mayor Mark Roche and Councilwoman Melissa Maruska, his surrogates talked up the rescue package.
Ben Bright, a Democrat running for Washington County controller, told attendees Mr. Lambvoted for the package.
Then, Mr. Bright disclosed thatMr. Lamb is a Democrat.
“But he’s a centrist Democrat,” Mr. Bright said. “A moderate.”