BREAKING Democrat Conor Lamb apparent winner in Pennsylvania upset, deals blow to Trump

[DonViejo]

Source: NBC News



MAR 14 2018, 5:55 AM ET

by ALEX SEITZ-WALD

WASHINGTON — Democrat Conor Lamb is the apparent winner over Republican Rick Saccone in Tuesday's special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, according to an NBC News projection.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, Lamb was leading by 641 votes in a district long held by the GOP and one that President Donald Trump — who backed Saccone — carried by 20 points in 2016.

Lamb declared victory early Wednesday morning. Saccone has not conceded and his campaign is in touch with legal counsel.

Shortly before 1:00 a.m., Lamb was introduced as "congressman-elect" at his election night party.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/pennsylvania-special-election-conor-lamb-rick-saccone-n856411?cid=eml_nbn_20180314

[Stuart G]

1. k and r.....great news..!!!

[femmocrat]

2. Wonderful news to wake up to.

So happy today!

[Perseus]

36. Don't want to spoil your party but...

History with republicans tells me that they are going to demand a recount, and they will try to cheat their way through it too. Their specialty is to spend tax payers money, to never conceded defeat, and keep everyone in stress, so like a busy highway in LA that never disappoints because you know you will hit traffic, so will republicans try to make a mess of this.

I hope I am wrong, but the news is they are talking to their legal councils.

[harun]

3. Beautiful

[Docreed2003]

4. ...

[True Blue American]

7. :)

The Lamb beat back the lyin’.

[DemocracyMouse]

22. Good one! :-)

[DesertRat]

5. And it all came down to 641 votes

All of the GOTV efforts helped!

Link to tweet

Also #PostcardsToVoters!

[politicaljunkie41910]

41. Just goes to show, anyone who still says "my vote doesn't count" is a fool.

We're seeing more and more elections decided by a handful of votes. Everyone should be registered to vote and should always vote, early if possible and the earlier the better. You never know what's going to happen on election day that might interfere with you getting to the Polls. Vote early. Vote Always. If your precinct doesn't offer early in person voting, request an absentee voter ballot. Follow ALL the directions for completing the ballot exactly as stated, and return it as soon as possible. In Los Angeles County where I live, I can even go on line to see that my ballot has been received.

[mcar]

6. K&R

[lark]

8. Whoohoo!!!

Go Bluewave, let's take back our country from the oligarchs and russia.

[GoneOffShore]

11. And the perfect is the enemy of the good.

So just stop.

[Pholus]

12. Yes, because the alternative has proven to be ACTUALLY and DEMONSTRABLY worse.

That burn it all down talk on the part of the purists got us Trump and a GOP majority congress.

In case you ain't keeping score, your pure agenda is getting its *ss kicked each and every day.

I'm sick of that. So. Yes. Gladly. Repeatedly.

[DemocracyMouse]

24. I'll assume that Democrats, as a whole, fundamentally want to address economic inequality?

In other words, by "purist" you mean stubborn affiliation to single issue check boxes?

I would hope it's still "the economy stupid" that will earn Democrats elections. How we address the growing gap between overpaid and underpaid is critical to saving this country. Every serious economist and thousands of Democrats, centrist and left of center, seem to agree?

[Pholus]

25. In the context of the post I responding to, what I said was clear.

You'll get no disagreement from me at all -- read my posting history from a couple years back!

But this is a battle for survival at this point. Vote as if your life depends on it, because it most assuredly does. This last year has been a disaster, and shows the folly of "burn it all down" voting.

So I am not going to worry about the pedigree of the troops and only hope to have the luxury of being able to worry about it in the future.

[DemocracyMouse]

42. My point is that we will WIN if we put jobs, the economy and economic inequality first

And if citizens are informed that the discrimination they are experiencing – all the divisions of sex, race, religion, ethnicity, parttime vs full time, etc. – are all CONTRIVED differences engineered to justify an economic system favoring the rich. Democrats will WIN if they push HARD for a new deal. Call me a traditional new deal Democrat AND a pragmatist!

[Pholus]

44. Perhaps. But I think actually representing constituents' desires is a more important first step.

You're describing values which are important, and I even agree with you 100%!

But we need to have good leaders elected first. I guess I'm a bit of a pragmatist myself. I would rather go with the pol who agrees with me 80% and who can get in a position to do something about it rather than the pol I agree with 100% who loses to the pol who agrees with me -25% (not all all PLUS wants to stick a twig in my eyeball).

Case by case.

[DemocracyMouse]

46. You're suggesting a passive view of DU here...

Isn't DU filtering out to those same Dem pols? Shouldn't we ENCOURAGE them to address the economic pain in peoples lives and LEAD in a realistic analysis of what CAUSES the divisions and violence in US society?

[Pholus]

47. I'm suggesting I don't want two more years of a GOP majority.

Whatever that takes!

[DemocracyMouse]

48. That takes this painful, vote-getting truth: it's the rigged economy forcing us to do 2-3 jobs

[SunSeeker]

13. It's spelled Koch. And no, the GOP/Koch/ALEC did not "select our side."

[ck4829]

16. Work outside elections if you see this as a problem. I do.

Elections and tainted voting systems are not the only ways to influence society and defend our way of life from the far right.

All of the groups you mentioned have the same sources of power as any regime does, we can target them.

https://www.aeinstein.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/FDTD.pdf

[wolfie001]

17. Gorsuch and Drumpft are fuckheads!

Go piss elsewhere! Ha ha

[obamanut2012]

18. yawn

[bluestarone]

10. I'm sooo happy for all people in PA

WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Lonestarblue]

14. Lesson to be learned from Conor Lambs campaign.

All Democratic candidates for the 2018 election need to pay attention to the Lamb campaign. He offered voters some real policy positions and support for jobs instead of just complaining about how bad Trump and Republicans are. I hope Democratic candidates will adapt his tactics, not necessarily all his positions, for their own races.

[AllyCat]

21. This

We learned our lesson (I hope) when we were ABB in 2004. We need policies and positive direction.

[karynnj]

39. In 2004, we had a great candidate with policies that formed the basis of ALL the 2008

campaigns with very minor changes -- except for Iraq, where all the candidates then had something close to Kerry/Feingold - even though both Hillary and Obama voted against it in 2006. One exception was that Kerry had a stronger position on the environment and climate change than any of the 2008 people.

Part of the difficulity he had was that people - especially Begala and Carville, 2 prominent TV Democrats, called him ABB. Part of that is that they were from the Kennedy/Kerry wing of the party. It still angers me that they used that label, which ONLY MAKES SENSE IN THE PRIMARIES. In the general election, a large percent of the people are very very likrly to vote "their" party. To put this in context, I NEVER said that I was ABB in 1992, though Clinton, with his poor environmental record in Arkansas and signs of his character flaws obvious even in the primaries was low on my choices. I read his book, and used what I did agree with when I spoke to people in support of him in the general election. Yet these two "pundits" only mocked and criticized Bush (which resonated only with the base) and could kind nothing in Kerry's long record to praise. That would not have been hard - ie in 2008, these two spoke of Clinton's role in Children's Health Care as her top accomplishment - yet KENNEDY himself was speaking of how the precursor bill for that was a joint effort of his with Kerry. Yet, nary a word was said of this by those two. Instead, they DAMNED Kerry by faint praise.

Even with this kind of weak support, Kerry greatly outperformed the fundmentals and had their been sufficient voting machines in Ohio cities, he would have upset a sitting President the country rallied behind in the trama of 911 just 3 years earlier.

[AllyCat]

40. I agree that Kerry was a decent candidate with good positions

But even on this board (which is when I joined), people had sig lines that were some permutation of ABB. You are right: the party was ABB and did not support Kerry the way they should have.

[karynnj]

43. I agree - DU was awful to Kerry both in the primaries and then after he lost

Possibly because many were intensely angry with his Iraq vote given his history and his eloquence on war and peace. They absolutely did not get that even in 1972, he was not a pacifist. In the wake of Syria, where the threat of bombing caused the opening to eliminate the chemical weapons which had not been an option before, does give context to his repeated answer that he gave Bush his support to help with diplomacy and that Bush did not as promised go to war only as a last resort. (He later said his vote was wrong and the war was immoral)

Many bought that Dean was more antiwar, even though his position (on Face the Nation) in Fall 2002 was at least as aggressive. Edwards was extremely pro war and a sponsor of the IWR. Kerry was, with Dean, one of the people who spoke out in early 2003 - as he said he would when he voted - saying that if Bush went to war, it would not be a war of last resort. My Catholic mom hated that comment after Bush started the war because it said it was not a just war. DU never considered the comment repeated constantly that Bush rushed to war (without planning for the peace) and (not as a last resort) were strong language -- when both were as strong as you can get.

My long term view of DU is that it tends to favor strong, in your face language. In fact, look at when Obama, Kerry or Hillary got praise. In general, it was when they attacked strongly something they disagreed with. Yet, both were stronger outside DU when they were speaking calmly and positively on policy.

In one very real way, Kerry was both a unique and special candidate. He was someone willing to take on things that would not make him popular if he felt strongly it was the right thing to do. The obvious example was his leading the Vietnam protests he led. But, he also went against not just the Reagan administration, but many Democrats when he doggedly investigated the Contras when no one else would. He then investigated BCCI for international money laundering until his investigation ended because his sub committee was taken away from him. Here, he had many Democratic money men, some implicated in BCCI having tentacles in US banks, furious with him.

In addition, he spent time advocating for things like, Youthbuild, which helps underpriviledged kids have the incentive to stay in school, while they simultaneously got job skills. Bill Clinton, in My Life, refered to that as "something that there were no votes" It also led to his making climate change his issue as SoS, getting Obama's greenlight to speak to negotiators he knew for decades from the summits he went to. Obama had little expectation that anything diplomatic could happen after the dissapointment of Copenhagen. The US/China pact led to success in Lima and then Paris.

[malthaussen]

15. Of course, the GOP will demand a recount.

In fact, in an election that close, it should be automatic.

Nice job by Lamb and the Democrats.

-- Mal

[MrsCoffee]

26. No mandatory recounts for district race.

But they could get to work on getting signatures and requesting one if they really want to humiliate themselves further.

[StevieM]

33. I have no problem with a recount. Gore should have gotten one in Florida. It would have shown

that he was the clear winner.

And I don't think a recount confirming the initial results should be seen as a humiliation.

[Dopers_Greed]

19. Has the Manchurian Manchild tweeted about it yet?

[not fooled]

38. And the election results unfolded

while donnie was at a big $$$$$ fundraiser in Beverly Hills.

Care to have an hors d'oeuvre of humiliation served at your table, sir?

Especially sweet!

[lordsummerisle]

20. K&R n/t

[FakeNoose]

23. This is awesome

I stayed up until 1 a.m. and I was pretty sure he had won when I finally turned in last night.
It's great to see the official announcement though.

Way to go Connor!

[thegoose]

27. Please keep campaigning

You orange piece of shit. Guaranteed Dem wins!

[flibbitygiblets]

29. It's going to be so sweet when he starts getting "disinvited" from the campaign trail

Not that it will matter; he'll insist on going anyway. Because it's all about HIM! He's radioactive even in his "base" areas.

[workinclasszero]

30. Yes indeed!

You be you orange shitgibbon! Keep flinging poo you sleepy eyed SOB!

And democrats will be in charge again real soon!!

[world wide wally]

28. Pa has redeemed itself... for the moment

Congrats to Pennsylvania ,... but you are still on probation until the midterms.
Good Luck!

[Pluvious]

34. At least half of that gerrymandered district of Pa did, a great demonstration

... Of an awakening populace

[getagrip_already]

31. GREAT NEWS.. But **sigh** - it's not front page news on a number of papers.....

I stopped in a coffee shop on my way home from an appointment this morning, and while I was waiting for my coffee I looked at the complimentary newspapers they had out.

Not a word about the election in either of two local papers; the Worcester Telegram and Gazzette and the Boston Herald.

Nothing. Nada.

Just trump firing tillerson, sports, and assorted local stories.

I expected that from faux. But this was just depressing.

[bearsfootball516]

37. Most newspapers have deadlines of midnight or earlier. The race wasn't called til very early morning

I used to work at a medium-sized newspaper. Our deadline was 10:30. Anything that happened after that wasn't going to get in.

[Hoyt]

32. Great news for Democrats. And, we don't have to listen to conspiracies about how votes were hacked.

[stonecutter357]

35. K&R

[tclambert]

45. I'm sure Trump will humbly accept the blame for the loss of this seat.

Nah. He probably already tweeted out blame at Hillary and Obama.