Free Republic

From Penna's Department of State web site, early results: Keller (R) 7577 Friedenberg (D) 3297

Please see link... There a special election in the PA senate and we need all to get out and vote. Raja is a pro 2a candidate and the Democrat is another radical against the 2a...

On Tuesday, Pennsylvania’s 18th district held a special election in which Democrat Conor Lamb is widely believed to have edged out his Republican rival Rick Saccone. While absentee votes are still being counted, Republicans are raising concerns that some voting machines were “miscalibrated,” which led to votes being switched from Saccone to Lamb.

Republicans are citing numerous problems at polling sites in Tuesday's special election in Pennsylvania, which remains too close to officially call but appears to be trending toward an extremely narrow victory for Democrat Conor Lamb. [Snip] Among the listed concerns are "miscalibrated" voting machines in Allegheny County, the only county of four in the district that went for Lamb, according to the source, who said there have been many reports of voters who intended to vote for Saccone ending up casting a ballot for Lamb. Furthermore, Republicans say their attorneys were ejected from polling sites as the absentee ballots were...

It’s well known that Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan doesn’t want to be in an actual leadership position; and it’s also well known -enhanced by the campaign, and victory, of Donald Trump- that Republicans did not want to win the majority position and face having to reveal their true UniParty agenda. The evidence of this UniParty positioning has been staring the electorate in the face, repeatedly and brutally, since candidate Donald Trump actually campaigned on key tenets of the Republican party and found himself being openly opposed by GOP leadership.

Republicans have a chance to learn and grow. The question is whether they will take this opportunity to do that. I am writing this column on the morning after the special election for Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district, and the race is too close to call. In a district that Donald Trump won by almost 20 percentage points in 2016, too close to call is a surprise to many -- especially to Republicans. While Democrats will be busy claiming victory, no matter the final result, and will rush to proclaim a blue wave in the fall for the mid-term elections, there...

Last evening I began watching the PA-18th-CD election returns on the New York Times newspaper election results site...which is by far the best in the business for election reporting and background information. As the initial election returns flowed in, the Times indicated that, though the race was very close, it appeared like Conon Lamb would eke out a victory scoring 52%-48% over Rick Saccone. Then about fifteen minutes later, the Times suddenly changed its prediction to Saccone winning by a 62%-38% over Lamb. The Times said that they had information as to voting patterns in the Conservative counties, indicating a...

PITTSBURGH — Republicans will not be conceding anytime soon in a tightly contested special election in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Conor Lamb holds a slim lead over Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone in Tuesday's election. Lamb's campaign and Democratic groups have declared him the winner, as he sits with less than a 700-vote lead. NBC News also projected him the "apparent winner" early Wednesday morning as more absentee ballots trickled in. There are still about 203 absentee ballots and then additional provisional and military ballots left to be counted, but Saccone would have to capture an overwhelming majority of those outstanding...

It could come down to a recount. Democrat Conor Lamb has already declared victory over Republican Rick Saccone in Pennsylvania’s special House election, but Republicans say they aren’t giving up until every vote is counted. The contest has still not been called, but Lamb leads Saccone by a few hundred votes. There’s no mandatory recount for a federal race in Pennsylvania, but Republicans have the option of petitioning for one. "This race is too close to call and we’re ready to ensure that every legal vote is counted,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Matt Gorman said late Tuesday. “Once they...

According to the Pennsylvania secretary of state's tally, Democrat Conor Lamb leads Republican Richard Saccone by 579 votes, less than half the total of 1,372 votes received by the Libertarian candidate. The razor-thin 0.26% lead could vanish if Saccone manages to get a little over 60% of the absentee votes that remain to be counted. Allegheny County's absentee ballots are included in that count, but the absentee ballots in the three other counties in the district have yet to be counted: 1,195 in Washington County, 1,808 in Westmoreland County, and 203 in Greene County, for a total of 3,204 absentee...

Ryan told House Republicans on Wednesday they need to “get to work,” fundraise and not be caught off guard heading into the midterm campaign season after Democrat Conor Lamb appeared to edge past his GOP opponent in a closely watched special congressional election.

Serious shenanigans may have gone down in Pennsylvania's special election on Tuesday. From the Washington Free Beacon:Lamb currently leads Republican Rick Saccone by just 627 votes and there are still absentee and provisional ballots that have not been tabulated, but Republicans are already preparing for the likely recount and even a possible lawsuit regarding issues at polling sites, according to a Republican source familiar with the deliberations. "We're actively investigating three instances and likely to file court action on them," the source said. Among the listed concerns are "miscalibrated" voting machines in Allegheny County, the only county of four in...

Democrat Conor Lamb, who has a razor-thin lead over Republican Rick Saccone in Pennsylvania’s special congressional election, says he’s confident he’ll be the ultimate winner. With some absentee ballots still being counted, Lamb told CNN Wednesday his campaign had made a push to help voters get absentee ballots. Lamb told CNN he has not yet heard from Saccone, but added, “I congratulate him on fighting hard the whole way.” Asked about his strong showing in a Republican district that Donald Trump carried by 20 points in 2016, Lamb said, “This is my home. You call it a red district, I...

We get it! Republicans are in deep trouble.If you skipped watching the results of the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District last night to catch an action movie or read a crime thriller instead, you picked the less exciting activity. Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone ran neck and neck for most of the evening (at one point, they were separated by only 95 votes), and even The Associated Press went to bed without calling the race. As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, Lamb led by 641 votes, or 0.28 percentage points. And...

In the most astonishingly bone-headed move since nominating Mitt Romney for President, the GOP establishment spent major cash to help elect Democrat Conor Lamb in last night’s highly contested PA-18 special election. Yes, you read that right. Failed Vice Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan and his Congressional Leadership Fund pushed a Democrat to victory over a Republican with direct mail advertising touting support “for our Second Amendment Rights.” I’ll repeat that again. A so-called GOP PAC led by Paul Ryan spent thousands of dollars in a direct mail campaign to convince voters that Conor Lamb was a conservative who would protect...

It could come down to a recount. Democrat Conor Lamb has already declared victory over Republican Rick Saccone in Pennsylvania’s special House election, but Republicans say they aren’t giving up until every vote is counted. The contest has still not been called, but Lamb leads Saccone by a few hundred votes. There’s no mandatory recount for a federal race in Pennsylvania, but Republicans have the option of petitioning for one. "This race is too close to call and we’re ready to ensure that every legal vote is counted,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Matt Gorman said late Tuesday. “Once they...

Such contests are more about storylines than winning In reality, the race will not only not change the balance of power in Congress, it won’t even determine who will get a leg up to win the seat this fall. That’s because the district will be entirely redrawn when the primaries for the seat take place two months from now and at least one candidate, Lamb, won’t even live there for a possible rematch. Tuesday’s election is also taking place with the 115th Congress’ heaviest legislating in the rear view mirror. With midterm primaries already underway, the chances of major bills...

A thread to discuss the results. I feel like Lamb has a lot of momentum, has run as a moderate, and has run a better campaign. I'll predict he'll win tonight (although I'd like to see Saccone win). NYT does a good job with election results.

Polls are now closed.

Your comments, inputs, items of interest, relative weather in the district, turnout as the day goes by, voting problems with machines, equipment, things of interest to voters & observers, general overview, etc. are most welcome!!!