Is This Marine Veteran the Next Doug Jones?

It’s the next big congressional race, one that Republicans were supposed to have in hand. But Conor Lamb has Democrats feeling bullish.

By Gideon Resnick

For Democrats, Alabama was a shocker. Virginia was a tsunami. But Pennsylvania may end up being the bellwether.

The party, resurgent as President Trump’s first year in office draws to a scandal-ridden, unpopular close, will face its next major test on a potential path to winning back a majority in the House of Representatives in a March special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th district.

The seat, held by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) since 2003, was left vacant following his resignation in October after a stunning report revealed that he had told a mistress to abort a possible pregnancy. Comprising a mix of coal-mine country, rural regions in the southwest corner of the state, and the very wealthy suburbs outside of Pittsburgh, it’s the kind of district that has been trending Republican for at least a decade. And it’s one where President Trump won by almost 20 points in the 2016 election, helping him win the state and ultimately the presidency.

But Democrats, who didn’t even put up a candidate to challenge Murphy in 2016, believe that they have a shot at winning this district back due to the strength of their candidate, a weaker Republican opponent, and a national climate that spells a wave for the party in next year’s elections.

Their hopes rest on 33-year-old veteran Conor Lamb, a former assistant U.S. attorney selected by local Democrats to be their standard-bearer last month. 

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Source: The Daily Beast