SOUTH STRABANE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — When Tim O’Neal won the May special election in this part of Pennsylvania in the state legislature, he was the first Republican to represent this area southwest of Pittsburgh since Ronald Reagan was president and “The Cosby Show” and “Roseanne” were the two top-rated television shows in America.

That did not deter the former Army infantry captain, who earned a Bronze Star for his valor in Afghanistan, from running for the seat. Nor was he deterred by the trouncing, just weeks before, that Democrat Conor Lamb administered to Republican Rick Saccone in the local congressional race.