PA House Election: Lamb Eyeing Run In Different District

PITTSBURGH, PA - While Conor Lamb waits for the results of his presumptive victory in Tuesday’s special congressional election in Pennsylvania to become final, he needs to quickly prepare for primary and potentially general election campaigns in a different congressional district.

Lamb appears to have narrowly defeated Republican Rick Saccone to fill the seat in the 18th Congressional District that’s been vacant since Tim Murphy’s resignation in October. Lamb holds a 641-vote lead, but absentee and provisional ballots are still being counted and he might not be declared the official winner for several weeks.

Thanks to a recent court-ordered redistricting of Pennsylvania’s congressional boundaries, Lamb soon will no longer be an 18th District resident. Although state law doesn’t require congressional candidates to live in the districts they seek to represent, Lamb already is seeking endorsements in the newly configured 17th District.

That potentially puts Lamb in a matchup with Keith Rothfus, a conservative Republican who has served in Congress since 2013. Although Lamb would be facing an incumbent, his path to victory actually could be easier in the new 17th District than it was in the 18th.

President Donald Trump won the 18th District by 20 points in the 2016 presidential election. In the newly drawn 17th, he would have defeated Hillary Clinton by just 2 points. That’s one reason
Democratic strategist Mike Mikus believes Rothfus is vulnerable.

“I would put Lamb as a favorite over Rothfus,” Mikus said Reuters.. “Rothfus raises a lot of money but he is very conservative and probably too conservative for this district.”

Unlike in the special election, Lamb will have to win a primary campaign in the 17th District, which already has five declared candidates: addiction treatment specialist Erin McClelland, who lost to Rothfus ni the 2016 and 2014 elections: Shaler English teacher Aaron Anthony; financial professional Ray Linsenmayer; attorney Beth Tarasi and scientific researcher Tom Prigg.

But given Lamb’s apparent stunning upset victory in the 18th District, his now-national profile and his prodigious fundraising abilities, he would be the prohibitive favorite to win the primary.

Among those anticipating a Lamb-Rothfus matchup is Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. Sabato last week changed his rating for the newly drawn 17th District from leaning Republican to toss-up. “Lamb represents a formidable challenger to Rothfus,” Sabato wrote.

Lamb quickly will have to officially announce his 17 District candidacy. The congressional candidate filing deadline is March 20 and the primary will be held May 15.

Photo:Drew Angerer/Getty Images.