GOP gets ‘wake-up call’ in Pennsylvania

Those dynamics now leave House Speaker Paul Ryan the target of aggressive attacks from two Democrats who want to oust him in his southern Wisconsin district, where Trump won 53 percent of the vote.

Pelosi shrugged off questions about Lamb’s repeated statements that he wanted to see new leadership in the House.

What this leaves out is that the outcome in Pennsylvania was a verdict on Trump.

There are some remaining votes to be counted, however, including provisional and any military or overseas ballots, which may now still be in the mail but must be received by the counties by March 20.

So what are the options for Lamb and Saccone?

A less strident approach, he said, “will lead us to the kinds of victories that I believe we’re on the verge of having in November”. The President’s old magic no longer works.

Though it appears the Republican candidate, Rick Saccone, will lose the race, Trump claimed that his rally for Saccone lifted the candidate. But voices in Foggy Bottom and Capitol Hill, cognizant that North Korea actually possesses nuclear weapons while Iran apparently does not, point out that the weapons inspections protocols of the Iran deal the president opposes are very likely to be more effective than any that might be won in North Korea, which has spectacularly adept methods of concealing its weapons.

Clearly he was hoping he could prove the pundits wrong and propel his man to victory.

Rick Saccone and Donald Trump.

Clinton got a pummelling in 1994, two years after the start of his first term, when the “Republican Revolution” led by Newt Gingrich gave Republicans a net gain of 54 seats.

Trump, who endorsed Saccone and visited Western Pennsylvania to support his campaign, said Lamb “ran a pretty smart race”. Phillips wrote. “If Democrats can beat Republicans at their own game, well then, Republicans still should have a lot to worry about”. He campaigned against the Republican tax cut plan as being excessively tilted to the wealthy. Answer: no, but it doesn’t mean that the surprise win of Conor Lamb in PA-18 on Tuesday has provided a kumbaya moment for his party. “It’s a good chance for me to show the record”.

After all, as a private businessman who knew little about numerous industries he joined, including air travel, gambling, and consumer goods, Trump’s approach has always been based on the idea of wooing customers and investors to what his gilded persona represented. By that measure, the Democrat this time improved by 6.6 percentage points over Obama while the Republican ran 5.6 percentage points behind McCain.

While Republicans are almost unanimous in their explanation for Lamb’s success, Cramer also blamed the dynamics of midterm elections that swing against the party in control of the White House. Both have given him a scare.

There were several lessons learned from the race, Pelosi said.

“I’m fine with the elections because it was a special election”, Kelly added.

Meanwhile, Saccone tweeted on Thursday that he is running in the new 14th, but noted he is still going “through the process to ensure the integrity of the special election”.

The official campaign arm for House Republicans reported spending another $619,664 on media ahead of the March 13 election for Pennsylvania’s 18th District House seat, bringing the total to $3.5 million on media buys as of last week, in a last-minute panic.

Some more context: This Pennsylvania district is located in extreme southwest Pennsylvania, up against the border with West Virginia, just south of Pittsburgh.

While Lamb didn’t campaign as anti-Trump, he did publicly disavow Pelosi and other party leaders such as Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). And Democratic primary voters may resist party leaders’ efforts to bolster moderate candidates. Lamb is one of them.