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 · 3:05:59 AM +00:00
·
David Nir
So Allegheny absentees have reportedly been tallied. It doesn’t appear they’ve been added to official totals yet, so adding this to Lamb’s 95-vote margin would give him an edge of 847 votes. Remember: This is by far Conor Lamb’s friendliest county. The other three counties have not tallied absentees, and in fact, only Westmoreland says it will do so tonight. (Greene and Washington say they will not tonight.)