Posted on 03/13/2018 11:17:04 PM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
CANONSBURG, PA — Democrat Conor Lamb declared victory early Wednesday morning in his razor-tight bid for a Pittsburgh-area House special election, although the race hasn't yet been called.
The seat, which voted for President Trump in 2016 by a 20-point margin, was once considered an easy win for Republicans. But Lamb currently leads Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone by 579 ballots, with some absentee ballots outstanding.
"It took a little longer than we thought, but we did it. You did it," Lamb told supporters at his election night party shortly before 1 a.m., after he was introduced as "congressman-elect."
"We followed what I learned in the Marines — leave no one behind. We went everywhere, we talked to everyone, we invited everyone in."
Lamb's campaign apparently believes that Republican Rick Saccone does not have a path to victory in those remaining ballots, leading to the decision to claim victory
Saccone promised earlier in the night to press, with his campaign telling MSNBC shortly after Lamb's remarks that they will not concede at this point. Media outlets have also not yet called the race.
As of 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, Lamb leads by 579 votes, with a few thousand absentee ballots left to count, largely from GOP-leaning areas.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
I think that will be the silver lining if the GOP gets wiped out in November. It will purge the party of the deadwood, and get the party more aligned with Trump for 2020. It will suck in the short-term, but will be better for the long-term.
When they called Lamb the apparent winner about 6 AM ET this morning they mentioned that the military vote hadn't been counted but that was only a few dozen votes so even if they all went for Saccone it wouldn't change things.
How close does it have to be for a recount? A few hundred sounds awful close.
From what I understand there is no automatic recount in the election but that Saccone can request one. This close it might be worth it though I really doubt it will change the results.
That was at 1 AM. At 6 AM when they called Lamb the apparent winner the absentee vote was all in.
Also, what about the out-of-country military and other voters? I think sometimes it takes a few more days for those to all be considered. Lets not forget the provisional ballots too. Of course, I am still be hopeful, as ever slight, as always.
You're right about the delay. The problem is that there were only a few dozen military absentee ballots requested so even if every one of them goes for Saccone it won't change things.
I believe registered Democrats exceed registered Republicans in this district.
Thus I would not call a 500 vote margin of victory a resurgence of Democrat supremacy.
This is a district that has gone for the Republican candidate for president and congress by double digits for going on 20 years. If the Democrats exceed Republicans than none of them have voted since 2002.
“”This is a district that has gone for the Republican candidate for president and congress by double digits for going on 20 years””
The first time since 2000. Murphy was elected in 2002 and remained in office till his resignation. The district went for Bush twice, McCain, Romney, and Trump - all by double digits.
Someone on Fox right now is saying Saccone would vote along Dem lines because he is not a Trump supporter. The other guy, Lamb, is more likely to support Trump’s agenda.
If this is so, then we now know why the election is so close.
And therein, lies the rub. How anyone, in this day and age, can think that there is such a thing as a ‘conservative democrat’ is beyond me. The DNC, et al, will not allow someone with those credentials to run. They would be too unpredictable. Dem candidates are given permission to shift to the Center, or Right, in order to win. Once they are placed, it’s hammer down to the Left.
If you’re a sane thinking person, I don’t care how much money Soros and the DNC spend on advertisements, there is no way any of that should convince you to vote for them. If those ads do sway your decision, then you are the reason that Super Bowl ads, cost millions of dollars, because you’re an idiot.
Soros is pumping all sorts of money into local, DA races. Apparently that money infusion is what is causing his candidate to win. The fact that his candidates are basically liberal, public defenders, that will let everyone walk, doesn’t seem to matter to the voters. They don’t care that their DA is going to be someone that comes up with or goes along with ridiculous and dangerous programs like the one in Broward Cty.
Manchin might appear as though he bucks the party, but only because they let him, so he can maintain the seat. His views on guns, etc are, publicly, just enough to keep WV from rejecting him completely. If not, if he really was a ‘conservative democrat’ then he’d be better off being a RINO in the form of Graham, et al.
Recount?
Seriously?
Recounts only go in one direction, no need for the final record showing the Democrat winning in a landslide.
Looks like he served on Okinawa, but I don't see any type of combat area experience. Having said that, my beloved SIL is completing his 22nd year in the USMC as a JAG.
He was stationed at the Pentagon on 9/11, and was running back and forth for the first 24 hours into the burning building rescuing the injured and trying to save lives.
Two years later, he was in Iraq, flying back and forth to FOBs in helicopters when they were being shot down.
Let's not paint all JAGs as merely "lawyers in green".
Not to mention, Lamb has been talking more like a Republican than has Saccone. It'll be interesting to see if he'll do a 180 if he wins. He's going to have to explain himself to Queen Pelosi.
Queen Pelosi will say “ya lying son of a bitch......good job!”
Sorry, but while that may be true, that’s not why Saccone lost. Saccone lost because he ran a pre Trump republican campaign in a post trump world!
Pure and simple, his messaging was all wrong for what needed to happen.
What needs to happen?? He needed the Trump I and Trump D supporters to be motivated and turn out... and he never accomplished that. Why?
Simple he ran a Carl Rove type of campaign... which was the same messaging R’s have used for 15+ years that NEVER got these folks to show up and gote R before but somehow they expected it to this time.
Stupid stupid stupid.
Trump won this district by 20 points, and even Saccone should have won, but he had no shot at winning, and it wasn’t lambs looks or the fact he played the conservative.. zit was because the GOPe and Saccone didn’t understand what they needed to do to motivate the Trump MAGA voter to show up!
This campaign was electoral incompetence, bot the Saccone camp directly and the GOPe PACs and national committees.
This was a completely winnable race, even with the candidate on the ballot and it was BOTCHED completely.
Thanks. It appears the RINO’s were in charge of picking
Saccone.
He was chosen by the party at a district convention, beating out two other state senators. So the party picked him and I'm sure the establishment played a primary role.
Saccone wasn’t the problem, the messaging and campaign he ran, and the GOPe/National Committees and PAC sent was.
This election was lost PURELY due to electoral incompetence.
The message for Saccone, from all parties, and action committees was not remotely one that was going to motivate the voters who gave Trump the win here to show up.
The ads literally could have been for any R candidate in the last 15+ years.
Yet, those D and I voters who went Trump didn’t show up and vote R for those messages anytime in the past, yet somehow they were going to this time??? STUPID! STUPID ON EVERY LEVEL!
Basically they ran a Pre-Trump Rove campaign in a post Trump world... and as a result they lost, pure and simple.
If the messaging of this campaign is the messaging R’s and their PAC’s plan on using this fall, they will lose the house, handily. It won’t be 1994/2010 type of loses, but it will be more than enough to lose the house.
You are NOT going to beat back Democrat/Anti Trump enthusiasm with a Rove campaign... PERIOD. You need to get those I’s and D’s who voted Trump to be motivated to show up, at least up here in the rust belt, and they are not going to be motivated or show up based on the messaging this campaign ran.
It was the wrong message from the get go... Red meat for the base has its place, but it cannot be the only message you offer.
Stupid, stupidly ran campaign by everyone involved from Saccone’s campaign directly, the RNCC, and all the other PACs. This campaign was a perfect example why this part of the country has not been winnable since the 80s in a presidential race prior to Trump.
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