Conor Lamb Declared ‘Apparent Winner” in Pennsylvania Race Still Too Close To Call

All throughout the night election officials, campaign workers and millions of Americans all over the country waited for the official results.  And as of 7 a.m. EDT Democrat Conor Lamb still had not officially been declared victorious over his Republican opponent Rick Saccone in the special election for Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district.  At last count Lamb had a lead of just 641 votes, with a few hundred more absentee ballots yet to be counted in the official tally.

Read: Kristi Noem Is Banned From 20% of South Dakota.

Just a few minutes ago MSNBC declared Lamb the “apparent winner” of the razor-thin race. This means that unless there are some big surprises in the remaining absentee ballots Lamb will have pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Pennsylvania and congressional history.  

In fact just after midnight Lamb stood before an excited crowd at his campaign headquarters and claimed victory even without the official announcement to confirm his optimistic view that he was indeed the winner.

According to AP News, Lamb spoke to his energetic crowd early Wednesday morning and told them that voters had directed him to “do your job” in Washington. “Mission accepted,” he declared.

Earlier, Saccone told his own supporters, “It’s not over yet, we’re going to fight all the way, all the way to the end, we’ll never give up.”

Since a recount is still possible there is still a chance that Lamb will NOT ultimately be declared the winner of this race which was even closer than experts and polls had predicted.

However Lamb’s strong showing in a congressional district won 20 points by President Donald Trump in the presidential race in 2016 was enough to create extreme anxiety among Republicans nationwide.  In addition, it has not only created massive excitement and enthusiasm among Democrats, it has also given them real hope that the 2018 midterm congressional elections will indeed be what they have been praying for:  A Great Big Blue Wave.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.