As of the early hours on Wednesday morning, there was no clear winner in the special election for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, though the numbers seemed to suggest Democrat Conor Lamb would take the seat. But no matter who ultimately prevails, a tight race signaled bad news for Republicans.
Only sixteen months ago, President Trump locked down Pennsylvania’s 18th with almost 60 percent of the vote, defeating Hillary Clinton by just short of a 20-point margin. Former Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, whose resignation forced Tuesday’s election, had won eight consecutive terms since 2002 — and by wide margins. Voters in the district selected Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2012 and 2008 respectively, also by comfortable margins.
