Update: March 2018 - In a nail-biting finish, Conor Lamb appears to have won the special election to fill Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District vacancy. The last numbers we saw showed Conor winning by less than 1000 votes over Republican Rick Saccone. This gerrymandered district had voted for Donald Trump by over a 20 point margin in 2016 but, despite a last minute appearance by Mr. Trump himself, Conor came from behind in the last few weeks to pull off the dramatic upset.

(image from nbcnews.com)

Listening to the Republican spin on Conor's victory has had us scratching our heads, though. After castigating Mr. Lamb during the campaign as a liberal Democrat who would fall in line behind Nancy Pelosi (even though Mr. Lamb called for new Democratic leadership in the House), the post-election GOP talking points are that Mr. Lamb won because he ran as a conservative! Go figure.

{Our original article follows:}

Conor Lamb is running for the U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. Although this district was so gerrymandered by the Pennsylvania GOP it is virtually unwinnable by a Democrat, polling shows Conor is running only slightly behind Republican career politician, and right-to-work advocate, Rick Saccone in this special election.

Mr. Lamb is a 33-year old former Marine and federal prosecutor who grew up in western Pennsylvania. He attended college at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a B.A. and then, continuing his studies, received a law degree in 2009. This is Conor's first foray into politics, although his grandfather had at one time been a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate.

Conor on the campaign trail (images from abcnews.com)

Mr. Lamb is campaigning on an interesting set of issues, not always taking the stereotypical Democratic positions. For example, he supports new Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and, like many pro-gun Democrats, he has no issue with law-abiding Citizens owning handguns, rifles, even what are frequently termed assault rifles. However, he will work to make sure those weapons do not get into the hands of convicted felons, the mentally ill, domestic abusers, people appearing on terrorist watch lists, etc.

At the same time, though, Conor also believes in universal health care for Americans. No Citizen should have to fear losing their insurance if they get sick, or be refused affordable insurance because of a pre-existing condition. He is disgusted by the GOP attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) without offering a viable alternative and then, after failing at repeal, remaining silent as the Trump administration has taken executive actions to try and make the ACA fail.

Mr. Lamb also knows the history of working people in America. He is not afraid to remind everyone that the union movement was what gave workers the ability to raise their families in dignity, without requiring public assistance to get by. Unfortunately, the latter is a position many of today's minimum wage workers find themselves in.

Conor Lamb campaign ad

Conor stands with virtually all Democrats in supporting a jobs bill to repair our nation's decaying infrastructure. Good roads, bridges, airports, power grids, internet communication, etc. are essential to maintaining a strong economy. Just as importantly, spending in this area will put thousands of people to work at good-paying jobs. Even Donald Trump admits that. It's terrible that the Congressional Republicans still refuse to pass any meaningful infrastructure legislation. (See our article,"When Will Republicans Agree to Fix Our Nation's Infrastructure" for more detail on this issue.)

Speaking of the Congressional Republicans, after passing their 2017 "tax reform" plan that primarily benefits the already-wealthy and adds another $1.5 trillion dollars to the federal debt, many Republicans are proposing to pay for that bill by cutting Social Security and Medicare. Conor will fight any such attempt. Social Security and Medicare are not "entitlement" programs; they are programs that seniors paid into for decades and that seniors rely on to live healthy, independent lives, without putting undo burden on loved ones.

Even if he comes up short in his current race, we expect to see much more of Conor Lamb in the future. Earlier this year Pennsylvania's Supreme Court declared Pennsylvania's gerrymandered Congressional districts unconstitutional and ordered the state to re-draw the districts in time for the November 2018 mid-term elections. Given his strong performance in the 18th District special election, Conor should be in demand for other public service opportunities. We'll be right there supporting him and we hope our readers in southwestern Pennsylvania will join us.

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