Polls closed at 8 PM ET in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, where Republican Rick Saccone faces Democrat Conor Lamb in a special election for the final months of former Republican Rep. Tim Murphy’s term. This Western Pennsylvania seat backed Trump 58-39 and Romney 58-41, but Republicans are worried that Trump’s unpopularity, as well as a weak campaign by Saccone and a strong effort from Lamb, will allow Democrats to flip this district. While a new map ordered by the state Supreme Court will dramatically change this seat’s boundaries ahead of the November general election, Republican outside groups have still spent millions to avoid what would be an embarrassing loss.
To help follow along as the results come in, David Jarman has set “benchmarks” for all four counties in the district—target numbers that Lamb would have to meet in order to narrowly win. We’re liveblogging the results below, and you can also follow our coverage on Twitter.
Results: State | New York Times | Associated Press
Wednesday, Mar 14, 2018 · 12:53:36 AM +00:00
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David Nir
Figured we might as well go ahead and repost those benchmarks here. The third column shows the results of the 2016 presidential race in each county that makes up PA-18. The final column shows the percentage Lamb would need in each county in order to eke out a narrow win.
COUNTY |
% OF 2016 VOTE |
2016 RESULTS (D/R) |
WHAT LAMB NEEDS TO WIN |
DISTRICTWIDE |
100 |
39/58 |
49/48 |
ALLEGHENY |
43 |
46/50 |
56/40 |
WESTMORELAND |
33 |
31/65 |
41/55 |
WASHINGTON |
22 |
35/61 |
45/51 |
GREENE |
2 |
27/70 |
37/60 |