HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Republican Rick Saccone conceded defeat to Democrat Conor Lamb on Wednesday night in a closely watched special election in Pennsylvania, more than a week after the end of a remarkable race that has shaken GOP confidence ahead of the November midterm elections.
Lamb, 33, claimed the seat by about 750 votes in a Republican-held district that President Donald Trump won by almost 20 percentage points just 16 months ago. Lamb, who struck a moderate tone during the race and was backed by the district’s influential labor unions, beat Saccone, a state lawmaker who had compiled one of the most conservative voting records in the state Legislature.
Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate for the March 13 special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District celebrates with his supporters at his election night party in Canonsburg, Pa., early Wednesday, March 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)Lamb also benefited from what Pittsburgh-area Democrats called the party’s most energized electorate they had ever seen, driven by an anti-Trump fervor.
On Twitter, Lamb said he had just gotten off the phone with Saccone and congratulated him “for a close, hard-fought race.”
Republicans considered seeking a recount request or a lawsuit to contest the result, even as vote-counting over the past week continued to pad Lamb’s lead.