Rep. Conor Lamb’s campaign spokesman, who is also the congressman’s brother, retweeted another user’s tweet to advocate for the death of the Pennsylvania Democrat’s Republican opponent Sean Parnell.
Saturday morning, Coleman Lamb retweeted another Twitter user who wrote to user @SeanStrnad, “Burn in hell and die.”
Within the retweet, the elder Lamb added, “Can add @SeanParnellUSA here.” The “Burn in hell and die” tweet was later deleted by the original user, but a screenshot of both tweets was preserved.
“It is disappointing that Conor Lamb’s brother, a leader in his campaign, would stoop so low as to call for the death of a political opponent. It is distasteful and hateful rhetoric that has no place in political discourse,” Parnell said in a statement.
“In the spirit of today’s cancel culture, one would expect calls for Coleman Lamb’s immediate dismissal. However, I believe that everyone needs a little grace from time to time. As despicable as Coleman Lamb’s comments are, everyone makes mistakes, and I hope that Coleman Lamb, Conor Lamb, and their campaign team can learn from it,” he added.
Conor Lamb had not commented on his brother’s tweet as of Saturday night. The Washington Examiner reached out to Coleman Lamb for comment.
“The tweet comes on the heels of this week’s release of campaign finance data showing that Parnell outraised Lamb nearly 2-1 in the second quarter of 2020. Parnell raised over $717,000; Lamb raised only $441,393 during the same period,” Parnell campaign spokesman Andrew Brey said.
Conor Lamb initially won Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District in March 2018 during a special election by half a point against his Republican opponent. The southwestern seat, previously held by Republican Rep. Tim Murphy until his resignation in October 2017, was won by President Trump by a margin of 20 points.
However, following that special election, the state Supreme Court approved a new congressional district map, making the 17th Congressional District more competitive for Democrats. Lamb won by 13 points against his Republican opponent in November 2018 under the new district lines.
