Democrats claim tight victory in Pennsylvania
Result is an ‘ominous sign’ for Republicans in lead up to November midterms

Democratic candidate Conor Lamb has claimed an extremely narrow victory in Pennsylvania’s 18th District special election held yesterday, in a district Donald Trump won by 20 points in the 2016 presidential election.
With 99.9% of the vote counted at midnight local time, Lamb held a very slim lead over GOP rival Rick Saccone, 49.9% to 49.5% – a difference of just 579 votes with more than 225,000 ballots cast.
“Tonight we celebrate regaining our voice and our vote in the great business of governing this country we love,” Lamb told supporters.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Officials are working to finalise the counting of 1,398 outstanding absentee ballots, which commentators say make it “mathematically possible but highly unlikely” for Saccone to make up the difference.
Saccone’s campaign and the National Republican Committee have announced that they have no intention of conceding for now.
Regardless of who is declared the winner, the result “is expected to raise Democratic hopes of taking back the House in November's midterm elections”, Fox News says.
CNN’s Eric Bradner said Republicans should be “very, very worried”, and that the result is an “ominous sign for the midterms.”
The surge in popularity for the Democrats in the election came despite Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner making several trips to the state to campaign for Saccone.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Can Trump's team make the MAGA playbook work for Albania's elections?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The architects of the president's 2024 victory are looking east to extend their populist reach
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Carney and Trump come face-to-face as bilateral tensions mount
IN THE SPOTLIGHT For his first sit-down with an unpredictable frenemy, the Canadian prime minister elected on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment tried for an awkward detente
-
'You might be surprised by how much you find yourself cheering for them'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
How does the Alien Enemies Act work?
Feature President Trump is using a long-dormant law to deport Venezuelans. How does it work?
-
Baby bonus: Can Trump boost the birth rate?
Feature The Trump administration is encouraging Americans to have more babies while also cutting funding for maternal and postpartum care
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'