GOP spending millions for Saccone

During a legislative hearing on opioids last year, for example, he worried about “a culture that promotes rebelliousness and vulgarity, disrespect [and] selfishness.”

Those remarks were filmed by liberal oppositionresearch group American Bridge. A spokesman for the group, Andrew Bates, noted that while Mr. Saccone talked about values, he also espoused repealing “Obamacare” health care reforms that provided additional Medicaid funding for drug treatment. “It would be dangerous to have a congressman like Saccone who won’t work every day to bring ... as muchrelief as possible.”

Mr. Saccone notes he voted for a raft of 2016 laws that tightened up rules on prescribing painkillers. (”I wasn’t the prime sponsor, but I was a vocal advocate,” he said.) But in the face of ills like school shootings and addiction, Mr. Saccone said leaders should also use the “bully pulpit” to oppose “the violent culture that we have with video games and movies and music.”

“I always chuckle when people show their disdain for Saccone,” said Republican political consultant Christopher Nicholas. “He has two master’s [degrees] and a Ph.D. from Pitt.”

International experience

The experience abroad of Mr. Saccone — an Air Force veteran who speaks Korean — defies easy categorization. It includes efforts to weed out would-be terrorists on military bases in Iraq and efforts to build a power plant in North Korea — part of a diplomatic effort to encourage the country to end its nuclear weapons program. And in books about those experiences, Mr. Saccone ranges from unapologetic hardliner to a believer in soft-power diplomacy.

Mr. Saccone wrote in a passage about the Middle East that while “Americans should never acknowledge or accept torture,” there was still a place for “coercive methods.” Waterboarding, a controversial practice in which interrogators simulate drowning, was “applied to hardened killers,” he wrote. “Performed professionally, there is no substantial risk of death or permanentinjury.”

“I didn’t advocate for waterboarding,” said Mr. Saccone in an interview. “I wanted to bring out the argument” about what actions were acceptable in fighting terrorism.

His memoir of North Korea, meanwhile, offers an often-sympathetic portrait of its people. And in a 2017 PostGazette opinion piece, he wrote that the United States should “embrace a more collaborative mindset” to counter North Korea’s nuclearambitions.

Mr.Trump, he said, should “quietly propose a few icebreaking gestures ... to save face and avoid military confrontation.”

That has not been administration policy to date, though some experts agree it should be.

“As someone who thinks about the strategic problem of North Korea, I think Saccone is on the right track,” said Ryan Grauer, an assistant professor of international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.

The money gap

Despite Mr. Saccone’s varied credentials, “a lot of us were concerned about Rick from the jump,” said one state political operative, whose opinions were echoed by several who spoke on condition of anonymity. “He’s a nice guy, but he can’t raise money.”

Indeed, through midFebruary, Mr. Lamb raised over $3.8 million, roughly four times Mr. Saccone’s total.

Such concerns prompted national Republican groups — including the National Republican Campaign Committee and the Congressional Leadership Fund — to blanket the airwaves, outspending Democratic groups by margins of over 15 to 1. Outside groups are also paying door-knockers to canvas the district and make the case directly to voters. He’s getting millions of dollars in outside help, plus backing from the White House.

Mr. Saccone said there’s every reason to be confident about his odds in the 18th.

But right now, doubts persist.

Mr. Saccone “hasn’t made any major blunders,” observed the Cook Political Report, a respected political handicapper. Still, it added, “it’s not normal for Republicans to be worried about losing a seat President Trump carried by 20 points.”

Despite the fact that he hasn’t pulled ahead in polling, Mr. Nicholas said, “he fits the district.” Candidates in special elections can be hurt “by the national political current,” he said.

“Rick Saccone is running a strong campaign focused on the issues voters care about,” explained Chris Martin of the National Republican Campaign Committee.

And Mr. Saccone downplayed the notion that the outside support he’s getting reflected a weakness in his own campaign. “The fact that so many groups are trying to help me [is a sign] of their confidence,” he said. “I’ve got the support of everybody from the president on down.”

He’ll know in less than two weeks whether that’s enough.