Democrat Conor Lamb clung to a slender lead Wednesday night, in the longtime GOP stronghold friendly to President Donald Trump, in a closely watched U.S. House race in Pennsylvania.
But that didn’t stop U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton from issuing a statement just after 6 a.m., claiming victory for Lamb, the Marine Corps captain he campaigned for in Tuesday’s special election in the state’s 18th Congressional district.
Results were close in the House race between Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone, but the Pennsylvania Department of State reported Lamb was in the lead by a 627-vote margin with 100 percent of precincts reporting. Saccone could request a recount.
Trump campaigned for Saccone, who embraced the administration’s policies.
“Statistically we were in good shape Wednesday morning,” Moulton told The Item. “It’s very clear the people of Pennsylvania sent a signal they want change. This is something I heard on the ground when I was campaigning with Conor.”
Democrats and Republicans are tired of the status quo and Lamb represents that change, Moulton said.
In a split from Democrats, Lamb and Moulton have urged House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to step down from her post. During the campaign, Lamb said he would support anyone running against the former Speaker of the House in an upcoming leadership vote.
The race has national implications, Moulton said, but he’s not sure everyone gets those national implications right.
“Does it mean Democrats can rest on our laurels and keep winning no matter what we do?” he said. “No, it means we need amazing candidates, like Conor, and true public servants who are willing to represent their districts, even if it means going against the party establishment, which Conor is willing to do.”
Last fall, in addition to Lamb, Moulton released a list of eight other House candidates, all veterans, he endorsed in the 2018 midterm elections.
Moulton, a former Marine, served four tours of duty in Iraq.
While Moulton looks like a presidential candidate, campaigning nationwide for Democratic hopefuls, appearing regularly on cable news shows, and even making a trip to Iowa last fall, the place best known as a stop for potential Democratic presidential candidates, he insists that’s not true.
“Everything I’m doing is focused on taking back the House,” he said. “The story is very simple. I was just trying to be a good congressman and working on things like growing economic development in Lynn … but after November, I had to get more involved politically. Winning back the House is the single most important way we can put a check on the president. There’s not much more to read into than that.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].
