Republicans sound alarm as Democrats claim Pennsylvania win

[webfact]

Republicans sound alarm as Democrats claim Pennsylvania win

By David Morgan and Susan Cornwell

 

U.S. Democratic congressional candidate Conor Lamb speaks during his election night rally in Pennsylvania's 18th U.S. Congressional district special election against Republican candidate and State Rep. Rick Saccone, in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

 

CANONSBURG, Pa./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans sounded the alarm on Wednesday after Democrats claimed victory in a Pennsylvania congressional election seen as a referendum on U.S. President Donald Trump's performance, although the vote tally remained officially too close to call.

 

In an ominous sign for Trump's Republicans eight months before national midterm elections, moderate Democrat Conor Lamb led conservative Republican Rick Saccone on Wednesday by a fraction of a percentage point for the House of Representatives seat.

 

The earliest the election result could be certified is March 26, according to a state official, but the final tally could be unknown for weeks.

 

County officials are expected to begin counting provisional paper ballots late this week, and military ballots next week, officials said.

 

Republicans have until the results are officially certified to challenge the outcome or pursue a recount. Saccone on Wednesday afternoon sent a fundraising email to supporters saying the "campaign is far from over."

 

The election should have been a shoo-in for Republicans in a district that Trump won by almost 20 points in the 2016 presidential election. He campaigned for Saccone, who started the race well ahead of Lamb.

 

Republican Speaker Paul Ryan called the election a "wakeup call" in a meeting with Republican House members and pushed them to raise more campaign funds. He also urged them to do more to highlight tax cuts approved by the Republican-dominated Congress and signed by Trump.

 

Lamb led Saccone by 627 votes on Wednesday, the state's unofficial returns showed; Lamb had 49.8 percent of the vote and Saccone 49.6 percent.

 

With about 500 provisional, absentee and military ballots to count, according to the New York Times, Lamb's lead appeared to be safe. The vast majority of the outstanding ballots were in Allegheny County, officials told Reuters, where Lamb received over 57 percent of the vote.

 

Republicans have not conceded the race and were not ruling out a recount or other legal action, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee said.

 

House Republicans called the race unique, noting that Lamb, 33, a Marine Corps veteran, had distanced himself from his party's leaders and staked out positions to the right of many Democrats.

 

"I don't think you’ll see another candidate like Lamb," said Republican Representative Chris Collins of New York.

 

Representative Mike Kelly, who represents Pennsylvania’s 3rd District, said Lamb was "more like a Republican."

 

'TRUMP BEFORE TRUMP WAS TRUMP'

 

The patchwork of small towns, farms and Pittsburgh suburbs that make up Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district is so Republican that Democrats did not even field candidates in the previous two House elections.

 

Come November, the district will cease to exist because boundaries have been redrawn. Both Lamb and Saccone were expected to run again, though in different districts.

 

Saccone, 60, a former Air Force counter-intelligence officer, has described himself as "Trump before Trump was Trump," and in January he led the race by more than 10 percentage points.

 

Trump held two events in the district during the campaign, including a rally on Saturday. Last week, he announced tariffs on imported steel that had been expected to appeal to voters in a state known for its steel industry.

 

The election, held to replace a Republican who resigned amid a scandal last year, was the latest forceful electoral showing for Democrats, who also won a governor's race in Virginia and scored a U.S. Senate upset in conservative Alabama.

 

Lamb's strong showing could buoy Democrats nationally as they seek to win control of the House from Republicans in the November elections.

 

Democrats see 118 Republican-held districts in play. If they flip 24 seats, they could reclaim a House majority.

 

Saccone's poor performance is worrying for Republicans who were sure that tax cuts they passed last year, the party's only major legislative achievement under Trump, would be a vote winner.

 

A Lamb win could vindicate a strategy Democrats are using in some races to enlist candidates whose positions and ideologies are well suited to the district even while conflicting in significant ways with the positions of the Democratic leadership in Washington.

 

Lamb advocated for gun rights and said Nancy Pelosi should be replaced as House Democratic leader, making it harder than expected for Republicans to attack some of his positions.

 

Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat from the Ohio Rust Belt who unsuccessfully challenged Pelosi's leadership in late 2016, said he believed Lamb's apparent victory sent a message to other candidates not to be afraid to break with party leadership.

 

"I hope it means that other candidates will take the lead, and run a very organic race based on the communities that they come from," Ryan told reporters.

 

Representative Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from a largely agricultural and blue collar district in Illinois, said Lamb was a strong candidate because he mirrored his district.

 

"When you have swing districts, you better make sure you've got a candidate that fits that district," Bustos said.

 

(Editing by Alistair Bell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-15

[Samui Bodoh]

53 minutes ago, webfact said:

Republicans sound alarm as Democrats claim Pennsylvania win

Republicans should not only be sounding the alarm, they should be screaming in fear from mountain tops.

 

Trump represents a loud minority who bitch and whine while building/creating nothing, and the American people have noticed.

 

All the Republicans out there; you have tattooed the name of a pussy-grabbing, whiny, unqualified, arrogant do-nothing on your forehead, And I cannot wait until the American people render judgement on your sorry souls.

 

Here's waiting for November with breathless anticipation!

 

[Jingthing]

Yes, there is real cause for optimism in the BLUE WAVE that the democrats can take both the house and the senate to put a real check on authoritarian "trump." But the question remains, what kind of candidates will work the best? I think the obvious answer is that depends on the district and state. The question for the national candidate in 2020 will have to wait.

 

Another way of saying, it's the democrats race to lose, but don't be so sure that they won't find a way to do that. 

 

Quote

Foreign diplomat to Democrats: Field better candidates against Trump ‘or we will all die’

http://thebaltimorepost.com/foreign-diplomat-to-democrats-field-better-candidates-against-trump-or-we-will-all-die

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Jingthing

[ballpoint]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

House Republicans called the race unique, noting that Lamb, 33, a Marine Corps veteran, had distanced himself from his party's leaders and staked out positions to the right of many Democrats.

 

"I don't think you’ll see another candidate like Lamb," said Republican Representative Chris Collins of New York.

 

Representative Mike Kelly, who represents Pennsylvania’s 3rd District, said Lamb was "more like a Republican."

There would seem to be a Republican hymn book that is read out on these occasions by the head-in-the-sand house members and Trump supporters on this forum.  "It had nothing to do with Trump, Lamb was a "special" candidate".  "He's more like a Republican, so it was actually a vote against the Democrats". "Nothing to see here, it will be different next time".  "But, but, but.....".

[EVENKEEL]

Perhaps the dems will see it's better to return to their roots. Their old former self. Before all the leftist lunacy.

[jackh]

Nothing to see here. Lamb has not won anything yet. In the end, the GOP will prevail as expected.

[Gecko123]

No doubt Trump is going to put on a charm offensive between now and November, but the people have already come to realize the Emperor has no clothes. Disregard for the truth helped get him elected; the ensuing lack of credibility will be his undoing.  He's going to discover no one buys that he's turned over a new leaf. In November the Republican party is going to learn just how desperately people want out of Trumplandia.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Gecko123

[Becker]

26 minutes ago, jackh said:

Nothing to see here. Lamb has not won anything yet. In the end, the GOP will prevail as expected.

Are you saying that Saccone will win or is it some other hidden message from your alternate reality?

[EVENKEEL]

Folks will continue to vote with their pocketbooks. Who can help them the most? If you're on welfare, enjoy special benefits and want to continue then a dem is likely for you. If you still believe in the American way, believe you can succeed on your own without entitlements...then voting dem maybe wrong for you.

[spidermike007]

Lamb won by a wide margin. The GOP and the deflector in chief should get used to it. They are going to get absolutely trounced in November. The population is going to speak, and Tiny Don is going to be quite humiliated with the results. He may end up a lame duck, for the balance of his one and only term. That is my prediction. If there is one thing that the Don has accomplished, it is to energize the democratic party. 

 

That slim margin — out of almost 230,000 ballots cast in a district that Mr. Trump carried by nearly 20 percentage points in 2016 — nonetheless upended the political landscape ahead of November’s midterm elections. It also emboldened Democrats to run maverick campaigns even in deep-red areas where Republicans remain bedeviled by Mr. Trump’s unpopularity.

[lannarebirth]

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

Lamb won by a wide margin. The GOP and the deflector in chief should get used to it. They are going to get absolutely trounced in November. The population is going to speak, and Tiny Don is going to be quite humiliated with the results. He may end up a lame duck, for the balance of his one and only term. That is my prediction. If there is one thing that the Don has accomplished, it is to energize the democratic party. 

 

That slim margin — out of almost 230,000 ballots cast in a district that Mr. Trump carried by nearly 20 percentage points in 2016 — nonetheless upended the political landscape ahead of November’s midterm elections. It also emboldened Democrats to run maverick campaigns even in deep-red areas where Republicans remain bedeviled by Mr. Trump’s unpopularity.

It's likely the Democrats will pick up seats in Congress and also make gains in the states in 2018 (from way way back). But if they don't sort out what their party is about they may give it all back in 2020.  If it is the party of Wall Street and left handed Somali hermaphrodites and not "every man" as it once aspired to themn it will become a relic of the past. Republicans may become that also if they don't get rid of their crazies.

[Redline]

2 hours ago, jackh said:

Nothing to see here. Lamb has not won anything yet. In the end, the GOP will prevail as expected.

Nope 

[Jonnapat]

4 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Republicans should not only be sounding the alarm, they should be screaming in fear from mountain tops.

 

Trump represents a loud minority who bitch and whine while building/creating nothing, and the American people have noticed.

 

All the Republicans out there; you have tattooed the name of a pussy-grabbing, whiny, unqualified, arrogant do-nothing on your forehead, And I cannot wait until the American people render judgement on your sorry souls.

 

Here's waiting for November with breathless anticipation!

 

Right with you there

[Scott]

Troll post reported and removed.  

 

[buick]

i have nothing against Lamb but keep in mind that he will only be in office for 4 months.  then districts in the state have been redrawn and there will be a new election in november.  Lamb will have to run again in a different district (although it might retain some part of the district he has won).  he will be up against a republican incumbent in that new district.

 

i like this part the best:

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Lamb advocated for gun rights and said Nancy Pelosi should be replaced as House Democratic leader, making it harder than expected for Republicans to attack some of his positions.

i'm guessing that carried alot of votes his way, not so much the gun rights, but the pelosi replacement.  the leaders in the senate and house (both parties) are useless.  they've been around so long they've forgotten what their job is. 

 

 

[Thakkar]

Pennsylvania 18th district is something like 97% white.

A district Romney won by 17 points.

A district Trump won by 20 points.

Gerrymandered in favor of Republicans to such a degree that courts have deemed it illegally gerrymandered.

The entire WH was out in force to support the Republican candidate: Trump, Pence, Ivanka, Don Jr.

The Republicans spent vastly more money than the democrats.

 

And they still lost.

 

If this is not a bellwether for Nov 2018, I don’t know what is. Whatever Republicans may say in public, privately they see the writing on the wall. That’s why so many of them are deciding not to run at all in November.

[janclaes47]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Lamb won by a wide margin

You must read another news story than me.

 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Lamb had 49.8 percent of the vote and Saccone 49.6 percent.

 

Lamb is in the position he is now, because he is a closet republican and much younger than the Republican candidate.

 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Lamb, 33, a Marine Corps veteran, had distanced himself from his party's leaders and staked out positions to the right of many Democrats.

 

[Jingthing]

29 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

You must read another news story than me.

 

 

Lamb is in the position he is now, because he is a closet republican and much younger than the Republican candidate.

 

 

Denial is not only a river in Egypt.

I love the BS republican spin if it means they aren't going to really do anything to change their sick selves to stop the BLUE WAVE. Keep it up! 

 

 

Quote

 

Debunking Republicans’ Post-Pennsylvania Spin

The Democrat didn’t run as a conservative, and the Republican didn’t lose because of his ’stache.

 

 

 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/debunking-republicans-post-pennsylvania-spin.html

[LydiaConners]

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

You must read another news story than me.

 

 

Lamb is in the position he is now, because he is a closet republican and much younger than the Republican candidate.

 

 

A closet republican who supports obamacare, abortion rights, and was against the Republican tax cuts?

[attrayant]

5 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

If you still believe in the American way, believe you can succeed on your own without entitlements...then voting dem maybe wrong for you.

 

And what does it say about districts that have long been deep red, where voters are no longer feeling they can succeed on their own?

[LydiaConners]

4 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

It's likely the Democrats will pick up seats in Congress and also make gains in the states in 2018 (from way way back). But if they don't sort out what their party is about they may give it all back in 2020.  If it is the party of Wall Street and left handed Somali hermaphrodites and not "every man" as it once aspired to themn it will become a relic of the past. Republicans may become that also if they don't get rid of their crazies.

Why don't you mentionn continuing Republican opposition to gay marriage. That's a very unpopular position. And just like happened with gay marriage, the public is rapidly moving towards acceptance of transgender people.

[attrayant]

Conservatives a few days ago:

 

 

Conservatives today:

 

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

Lamb is in the position he is now, because he is a closet republican and much younger than the Republican candidate.

[EVENKEEL]

15 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

And what does it say about districts that have long been deep red, where voters are no longer feeling they can succeed on their own?

Guess it means they're looking for some freebees.

[attrayant]

I guess it means they're tired of years of republican leadership and looking for competent leaders.

[boomerangutang]

42 minutes ago, LydiaConners said:

A closet republican who supports obamacare, abortion rights, and was against the Republican tax cuts?

yes, it's getting sad and funny concurrently, at how Republicans spin things.  Maintaining support for Trump is a sad biz nowadays, and getting grimmer.

 

Is that what right-wingers are saying, that "Lamb was really a closet-Republican?"  

It's gonna be a rocky next 20 months for right wingers.  The only place they can go is down down down the scree slope.

 

[Thakkar]

Trump said he helped Republican in Pa. special election

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the final outcome of the Pennsylvania special election would have been much worse for Republicans if he had not campaigned in the district.

Trump also suggested Lamb won by pandering to GOP voters. “He said very nice things about me. I kept saying, ‘Is he a Republican?’ He sounded like a Republican to me,” the president aid. “But I guess when you’re popular in a certain area, that’s probably a good tactic.”

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/15/trump-pennsylvania-special-election-trudeau-465418

[Grouse]

Who will be the Democrat leader? Just asking?

[Bluespunk]

4 hours ago, buick said:

i have nothing against Lamb but keep in mind that he will only be in office for 4 months.  then districts in the state have been redrawn and there will be a new election in november.  Lamb will have to run again in a different district (although it might retain some part of the district he has won).  he will be up against a republican incumbent in that new district.

 

i like this part the best:

 

i'm guessing that carried alot of votes his way, not so much the gun rights, but the pelosi replacement.  the leaders in the senate and house (both parties) are useless.  they've been around so long they've forgotten what their job is. 

 

 

He’s even more likely to win in the new district, as it won’t be one the local republicans rigged to ensure a safe seat. 

 

That worked well, didn’t it...

[Silurian]

1 hour ago, Thakkar said:

Trump said he helped Republican in Pa. special election

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the final outcome of the Pennsylvania special election would have been much worse for Republicans if he had not campaigned in the district.

 

Ah, the campaigner in chief himself! Heck, let him go out more and more and stump for each and everyone of the Republicans going up for election. Every single day he is out of the White House and distracted from any executive duties the better for America. Keep him distracted doing what he loves (listening to himself speak) and get him the hell out of the way.

 

It also has the benefit of getting more votes for the Democrats as well. It is a win-win! 

 

[buick]

21 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

He’s even more likely to win in the new district, as it won’t be one the local republicans rigged to ensure a safe seat. 

 

That worked well, didn’t it...

i'm not sure he is more likely to win, but i do know/agree the districts were redrawn to be more bipartisan/fair.  i'm all for that.  i'm sick and tired of the partisan politics.  time for the two parties to make compromises and make things happen.  haven't seen that in at least a decade.  to me, ringing the victory bell for lamb now is a bit premature, in his 4 months in office nothing will happen (not his fault, just how things go in DC).  it is just an opportunity for media outlets supporting each party to have another go at each other.