March 13, 2018

Democrat Leads in District Trump Won by 20 Points

Wave?

Republican Rick Saccone at a campaign rally with President Donald TrumpKeith Srakocic/AP

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

The vote-counting stretched into Wednesday morning in Pennsylvania, where Democrat Conor Lamb narrowly leads Republican Rick Saccone in a congressional district that President Donald Trump carried by 20 points. Our own Clint Hendler spent Tuesday evening at the Hilton Garden Inn in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, where Lamb supporters gathered to watch the results. Check out live coverage from him and others below.

Update 10

Most news outlets are still saying the race is to close to call, but Lamb declared victory early Wednesday morning. “It took a little longer than we thought,” he told cheering supporters. “But we did it.”

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Wednesday morning, Lamb’s lead does appear to be holding, for now:

With 100 percent of the vote count in, Mr. Lamb was ahead by more than 600 votes. However, absentee and provisional ballots were still being counted overnight. Washington County finished tallying early Wednesday morning, showing Lamb with 609 votes and Saccone, 547.

Greene County absentee votes were still out.

[…]

If the race is still too close to call after the absentee ballots are counted, voters or candidates could call for a recount or recanvass of votes, but the process is onerous. Voters have until officials are done with the computation of the votes on Friday to file a challenge with their county Board of Elections. The computation includes the counting of absentee ballots.

Update 9

As of 11:40 pm ET, the race was still too close to call, with Lamb clinging to a lead of fewer than 900 votes. The AP has said it won’t be projecting a winner tonight:

Update 8

Not much left to count. Still incredibly close.

But are they playing “Fight Song,” Clint?

Update 7

The race is getting pretty tight:

Update 6

Bad news for anyone following the infamous New York Times needle. But the good news is that Clint’s tweets will be unaffected.

Wasserman points to the same issue with the way results are being reported. Looks like we’ll just have to wait for them to count the actual votes.

Update 5

Meanwhile, Lamb supporters are still seem confident:

Update 4

Update 3

The New York Times’ Nate Cohn says we could be in for a late night:

Update 2

Here’s some more early data from the Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman:

Update 1

Original Post:

We don't answer to billionaires. We answer to you.

You've watched it happen in real time: corporate media cutting staff, killing stories, and bending to power. The giants of American media have owners to protect, and the truth pays the price.

None of it should surprise us. The problem with American journalism has always been that we entrusted this vital public service to for-profit companies whose allegiance could shift with the political winds and the bottom line.

That is why Mother Jones is independent from billionaires, corporations, and any other deep-pockets owner—and has been since we were founded 50 years ago. We’re only answering to our readers. To you.

We’re funded by our readers too. This week, we have a generous $50,000 match for all donations, meaning that your donation—and your impact—will be doubled. Gifts from readers like you help keep us fiercely independent and telling the truth about those in power.

We don't answer to billionaires. We answer to you.

You've watched it happen in real time: corporate media cutting staff, killing stories, and bending to power. The giants of American media have owners to protect, and the truth pays the price.

None of it should surprise us. The problem with American journalism has always been that we entrusted this vital public service to for-profit companies whose allegiance could shift with the political winds and the bottom line.

That is why Mother Jones is independent from billionaires, corporations, and any other deep-pockets owner—and has been since we were founded 50 years ago. We’re only answering to our readers. To you.

We’re funded by our readers too. This week, we have a generous $50,000 match for all donations, meaning that your donation—and your impact—will be doubled. Gifts from readers like you help keep us fiercely independent and telling the truth about those in power.

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate