President Trump’s involvement in a Pennsylvania special election helped the Republican candidate finish nearly even with the Democrat who appears to have beaten him, White House spokesman Raj Shah argued on Wednesday.
“The president’s engagement in the race turned what was a deficit for the Republican candidate to what is essentially a tie,” Shah told reporters traveling with Trump on Air Force One.
Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate in the House race to fill a vacancy in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, appears to have notched a narrow win on Tuesday over Rick Saccone, the Republican who ran against him for a seat that long been held by the GOP. Trump won the 18th District by 20 points in 2016, and both parties had viewed the special election as a chance to test messaging and tactics ahead of the midterm elections.
Just a few hundred votes separated Lamb and Saccone heading into Wednesday morning, when Democrats claimed victory based on Lamb’s slim lead. Saccone, however, has not yet conceded.
Shah argued Lamb’s campaign promoted many of Trump’s policies in an area of the country that overwhelmingly supported the president more than a year ago.
“Also, the Democrat in the race really embraced the president’s policies and his vision, whereas he didn’t really embrace Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader,” Shah said.
Trump had traveled to the district on Saturday to rally support for Saccone before voters cast their ballots. It was the president’s second swing through the area, and Republicans hoped his endorsement of the GOP state representative could pull him over the finish line in a tight contest.
Although Lamb did oppose making House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the speaker if Democrats retook the majority this fall, he ran against a number of Trump’s policies, including the tax cuts Trump signed into law in December.
