Pa. congressional race a preview of midterms?
A special election in western Pennsylvania could give a clue about the popularity of Trump’s agenda.
The eyes of the nation were riveted on Pennsylvania Tuesday.
And it had nothing to do with the Eagles. Or the “Philly Special.” This one was the “Pa. Special,” a special election for the U.S. Congress. It was big news. Right up until the time President Donald Trump decided to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Maybe that’s what the president had in mind. Maybe he wanted to shift attention off what appears to be a failing effort to prop up the struggling campaign of Republican Rick Saccone.
Saccone, a former state representative and Air Force veteran, found himself trailing Conor Lamb, a Marine and former federal prosecutor, in the hours leading up to the election.
This is stunning in light of the fact that this is a district Trump won by 20 points in 2016.
Specifically the national focus was on a slice of the southwestern part of the state near Pittsburgh. Trump country. Where the president’s message connected with hordes of disaffected middle-class, white voters in the shadows of closed steel mills and coal plants, who believed that their voices no longer were heard – or much mattered – in Washington, D.C.
It’s the home of the 18th Congressional District, which held a special election Tuesday to send a new representative to Washington. That’s because their former representative, longtime incumbent Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, a staunch abortion foe, bowed out after he was caught encouraging the woman he was having an affair with to have an abortion.
Of course voters were not simply electing a new congressman, they were also taking part in a referendum on the presidency of Donald Trump.
Republicans pulled out all the stops trying to lift the sagging Saccone campaign to victory over the Democrat challenger Lamb.
The race was trumpeted by hopeful Dems as the first ripple in what they hope will be a Democratic tidal wave in the 2018 mid-terms.
Donald Trump Jr. spent the day in the district Monday. He said Saccone would help his father’s fight to bring jobs back to the U.S. from overseas.
There are some people who believe the 18th race may have been a factor in Trump’s push to announce new tariffs on imported steel.
The president showed up in person Friday night at a campaign rally in Moon Township. Unfortunately, he barely mentioned Saccone. Instead he talked for the most part about his favorite topic — himself, while attacking all his perceived foes, including, of course, the press. The president went after “Meet the Press” host and MSNBC anchor Chuck Todd, referring to him as that “sleepy-eyed son of a bitch.”
Republicans stepped up their attacks on Lamb, a former Marine and federal prosecutor. They are saying he would be a puppet for House Dem leader Nancy Pelosi.
The president even pulled out his old tried-and-true tactic.
During his rally Friday night he slapped a nickname on the Democrat, mocking him as “Lamb the sham.”
Lamb has specifically distanced himself from national Democrats, in particular Pelosi.
As voting commenced Tuesday, polls continued to show the upstart Lamb with a slim lead in a region that Republicans have dominated for years. Look for Trump to take all the credit should Saccone pull out a win. And if he loses? It will be Saccone’s fault, not a sign of erosion amid the white, middle-class voters who drove the Trump train to the White House.
The belief is that if Lamb wins, it will be the first sign of a Democratic resurgence that could see them regain control of the House in the November mid-terms. It could also spell more trouble in the Philly suburbs for Republicans, people like Ryan Costello, R-6, in Chester County, and whoever winds up as the GOP choice in the newly created 5th Congressional District.
Today we’ll have a much better feel if Trump’s act is wearing thin, or if he’s basking in the glow of pulling a failing candidate out of the mire.
Then it will be on to the mid-terms.
Buckle your seat belt. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.