The dueling convention appearances of Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb and his Republican opponent, Sean Parnell, reflects the hard-fought and close nature of the Pennsylvania district they’re both vying to represent.
Parnell, an Army combat veteran, on Monday, was a featured speaker on the first night of the Republican National Convention. Parnell recounted his experiences serving in Afghanistan and coming under fire by the Taliban with his platoon nearly 15 years ago.
“In the face of death, I saw ordinary Americans become heroes. In our darkest hour, when our survival depended on each other, my men and I learned an important lesson: We all bleed red. Our differences did not define us. United, we were unbeatable,” Parnell said.
Lamb, who served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2009-2013 and went on to serve as a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, came to Congress in March 2018 during a special election by half a point against his Republican opponent.
The southwestern Pennsylvania seat, previously held by Republican Rep. Tim Murphy until his resignation in October 2017, was won by President Trump by a 20-point margin. However, the state Supreme Court approved a new congressional district map before the election, which made the district more competitive for Democrats.
Trump won the state of Pennsylvania by just 1 percentage point in 2016, and Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s connection to the state, since he’s a Scranton native, could make taking the state for the president a second time more difficult.
