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Trump's Excuse on Conor Lamb: 'Only a Congressman for Five Months'

March 16, 2018 12:50·
Wow, The Democrat “Big Blue Wave Coming” Certainly Is Diminutive

Wow, The Democrat “Big Blue Wave Coming” Certainly Is Diminutive

A recount is likely regardless of the final tallies, though Lamb has already claimed his victory. (Most of the district votes on touch-screen machines, so there are no actual ballots to be recounted, only numbers to be re-checked).

President Donald Trump had carried the district in 2016 by a whopping 20 percentage points in the Pittsburgh suburbs where coal miners still dream of going back underground. Now?

Moulton said the district is made up mostly of working people, many of whom are struggling, others who have lost their jobs, while still others are struggling with the effects of the opioid epidemic.

So what are the options for Lamb and Saccone? In the era of Trump, Democrats have shown they can drive suburban voters to the polls and generate real liberal enthusiasm for moderate candidates. It's even something for them to panic about.

Democrat Conor Lamb's apparent victory in the special election in southwestern Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district-a 627-vote margin that Republicans say they may contest-is a ideal illustration of how high 2018's blue wave has to be to surmount the swing-state barriers created by the GOP.

While republican policy whisperer Mike Murphy thinks there is a "Democratic wave" on the horizon, Rick Saccone observed firsthand, the wave was as much about green as it was blue.

On the other hand, some caution is always in order.

First, Democrats should nationalize the midterm elections the way Newt Gingrich did with his "Contract for America" in 1994. The parallels between the Pennsylvania special election this week and these three districts are undeniable. In 2008, Obama beat John McCain by 13 points in IL 13. "We needed a change, and for years I thought my vote didn't count, but I was happy when it did". You can read that number two ways: Republicans can take comfort that the swing toward Democrats here wasn't as severe as it might seem.

Moulton's campaign said the congressman kicked off two canvasses and went door to door with Lamb.

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In any case, Tuesday's results were good news for Democrats. Now let's see what they might mean for Virginia. The district reminds him of parts of the 6th District in MA. Trump won the district 59-35. However, all of that was just as true before the special election, and is no more and no less true on this side of it.

Sombre Republican leaders were forced to acknowledge that, regardless of the eventual outcome, Mr Lamb had dealt a sharp blow to their prospects of maintaining control of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The question is how relevant those pre-Trump results are.

"This campaign and this fight is NOT over, and we're going to fight this until every vote is securely in and counted", the email said.

But given their huge spending advantage on tax ads, it would be hard not to take away that the GOP message on taxes-that if we just continue to lay more tax cuts on the wealthy and it will eventually trickle down to others-is not a winning one.

The place Republicans should more clearly worry about is the 5th District, represented by Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham County. Trump won that district by 53-42.

"Those busted endorsements suggest that for all his mystical connection with his base, Trump is not necessarily an asset for GOP candidates in special elections", CNN wrote. "Sounded like a Republican to me", Trump said.

The 6th, by contrast, is an open seat. Now, he is a former prosecutor and Marine veteran who has somewhat socially conservative personal views. If the Republicans nominate Dunbar, all bets are off, and the 6th may be really be up for grabs. He sought out candidates who were tailored to the districts, even if they were afield from party orthodoxy on issues such as guns, abortion and unions. Northam won the general election by 9 points anyway.

Pennsylvania's Democratic-majority Supreme Court has ordered the redrawing of the state's 18 congressional districts, the result of a gerrymandering lawsuit filed past year. They to communicate that they believe in fairness for workers, and that middle class Americans are the engine of growth in the economy, not wealthy corporations. If they nominate candidates who lean further to the left, they run the risk of wasting an opportunity, however slim that may be. The bottom line: Both parties have things to worry about.

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