The race to replace former Congressman Tim Murphy (R-Allegheny) is beginning to heat up with three months remaining before the special election. Democrat Conor Lamb and state Rep. Rick Saccone (R-Allegheny) are running against each other for the seat.
The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) is reportedly going to be investing heavily in the race, including opening two offices in the district according to WPXI. The two offices will be used to help coordinate a door knocking campaign with the goal of knocking on 250,000 doors in the district.
Democrats also have plans for the race, including rallying labor support behind Lamb to help push voters to the poll.
From WPXI:
Mike Mikus is a Democratic operative who has experience in special elections in Pennsylvania –previously managing Mark Critz’s successful campaign in the 12th District back in 2010.
He said the challenge for Lamb will be to get more than 50 percent of the vote in Allegheny County. That would put him in a position to win with a mid-40 percent range in Washington and Greene County and dropping off to about 40 percent of votes in Westmoreland County– the historically red areas of the district.
The Lamb campaign has so far opened offices in Westmoreland and Greene counties, targeting the two reddest areas of the district where Lamb will have to convince some Republican and independent voters to cast their ballot for a young Democrat
Getting the vote out for each candidate will be a major part of this election, as it does not coincide with any other elections this year, making it hard to get low propensity voters to the polls.
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21 Responses
Wait a minute. The GOP gerrymanders the living heck out of this district, to ensure they have an insurmountable registration advantage, and Paul Ryan STILL needs not one but two campaign offices to feel competitive. Man, aligning with TheRump is beginning to cost these guys big. No problem, their donors got the cash. But still.
All our fundamental rights are unalienable because they are divine, that is, they come from our Creator without whom there is no meaning for our lives, like dust we are. Rick Saccone is well aware of that fact.
Rick Saccone is a solid conservative and an experienced legislator and politician, and super nice guy. It appears he will have the necessary money.
This will be a big win for Trump and conservatives, in my opinion. Rick Saccone has specialized experience with North and South Korean issues.
The only specialized experience Saccone has is reading menus in restaurants with his wife and always having a lobbyist to pick up the bill.
When people are done babbling about, or trying to settle scores with Mikus, the fact that this one party district requires this kind of Republican investment speaks volumes.
There are more registered democrats than republicans in the 18.
You are free to characterize what you do not want to hear as babbling and settling scores, but the fact is that Murphy always did a considerable amount of funs raising in this district. So, in that respect, nothing has changed. What does stand out, however, is the hesitation of the national Democrats to match the GOP investment. Yes, there is a Democratic voter registration edge in this district, but that is not want you look at. You look at voting trends and performance, and in that case, along with demographics, it is pretty clear why the Democrats are sitting on the fence in this one. In any case, it leaves the Lamb campaign, in this case the candidate himself and Mikus, in the embarrassing position of trying to convince people that they are not seeking the help of national Democrats and will match the GOP investment with a “voter to voter” program. Something, by the way, that by the GOP is on record as also planning to do. That is a component, but hardly the whole game. In the end, if, given his past dismal record and after what he tried to do to Mike Lamb, Conor Lamb wants to hitch his future and reputation to Mikus, that is his business, but please do not try to divert the point of my initial missive, which was that there is a complete lack of transparency as to the role of Mikus in the Lamb campaign
Saccone will need all the help in the world. He’s the worst candidate the Republicans could have picked. He can’t complete a sentence without invoking GOD’S name. What a loser, completely unfit to hold any elected office.
He is unfit because he is a religious Man? What us wrong with you?
Yes, religion clouds your judgement. Just look at all the religious wackos in the Republican Party. Huckabee, Santorum, Bachmann. Do you need a magnifying glass?
Bob—he’s unfit because you do not mix religion and politics. Our forefathers were very clear on the separation of state and religion. I’m a Christian and I practice my faith in church NOT on the floor of the Senate or House in Harrisburg and Washington.
You are very confused in your assessment. The idea what no state religion and no govt interference with religion. Many founders were deeply religious themselves and it is totally fair and constitutional to mix politics and religion and it had for the entirety of this country’s existence.
The Founding Fathers WERE trying to prevent theocracy run states AND colonies right here in North America. They were all fully aware of the abuse in Europe.
They’re clearly worried about losing the red district.
There are more registered democrats in the 18
Yes mikus is involved in conor lamb campaign,along with others who ran mark flahertys failed campaign against chelsa wagner,had thousands of dollars more, and just ran negative tv ads against her, and still lost.time to look for a new line of work.
Why, in all of the articles regarding this special election, does Mikus keep being referred to as a “Democratic operative”? Why not be honest about this and just say that he was assigned to the Lamb campaign by Rich Fitzgerald. Is he ashamed or just trying to make sure that his toxic antics and presence doesn’t reflect back on Lamb. By the way, why not also mention that he also ran the Critz campaign that gave us the current GOP Rep. in the 12th CD, as well as the fourth place finish (out of four) by Katie McGinty in the 2014 gubernatorial primary election, presided over Fitzgerald’s imploded effort to run candidates against sitting Democratic incumbents (including Conor Lambs uncle Mike and Chelsa Wagner) and had to leave Bob O’Connors mayoral campaign for lying about his voter registration. Truth in advertising and transparency, please.
Phony Fitz is only testing the now frigid water (for him) in a run for a third term and using someone else as his stalking horse. When he became a suck up to the godfather, uncle Charlie and my cousin JUNIOR after getting elected twice by running against our family, he betrayed principles that he didn’t have. He should pack it in now because our girl Chelsa has already taken his job in the next election.
Plubius-
I don’t see where in the article it says that Mikus is actually on the campaign. From the article, he merely seems to be a political consultant/operative giving his opinion about the race, and that he has experience with Special Elections.
If he’s actually part of the campaign, the article does not seem to go that far. If he is part of the campaign, it sounds like he’s doing GOTV targeting analysis, and not campaign manager or named position (like field director).
If you know more, please elaborate.
Yes, that’s my whole point. He has been involved in the Lamb campaign from the start and, for obvious reasons, including in this article, that relationship is being played down or ignored. He is being allowed to comment under the cover of being an unaffiliated Democratic operative. That’s a complete lack of transparency. My guess is that Mikus is not doing any kind of targeting or GOTV. He will revert to his usual pattern and just hurl negative social media posts, even though it has not served him particularly well in the past. Of course, he will also loot the campaign budget in the meantime.
Which one will Yoko be at collecting all the big checks from the DC swamp?