DCCC Makes First Investment In Pennsylvania Democrat's Special Election Bid

Daniel Marans
Updated

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is making a modest initial investment in support of Conor Lamb, the Democratic candidate running in the special election for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional district.

The DCCC, which helps elect Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives, purchased $224,000 of television ads boosting Lamb, HuffPost confirmed with a Democratic source familiar with the ad buy. The ads will air for two weeks beginning on Jan. 30. Election Day is March 13.

Although the contribution is relatively small, it could kick off larger contributions from big donors and outside groups.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, which elects House Republicans, responded on Friday with a $300,000 ad buy of its own. The GOP group blocked out broadcast space from Monday through Election Day to air the campaign spots.

Democrat Conor Lamb drew a crowd of about 85 people at an American Legion post in Houston, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Democrat Conor Lamb drew a crowd of about 85 people at an American Legion post in Houston, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 13, 2018. (Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Lamb, a 33-year-old former assistant U.S. attorney and veteran of the Marines, has thus far mounted his underdog bid against Republican Rick Saccone, a 59-year-old conservative state representative, without any meaningful backing from the national party.

Lamb has nonetheless attracted the endorsement of the federal PAC End Citizens United and Daily Kos, a liberal site through which he has raised nearly $49,000.

The two candidates are vying to fill a seat vacated by Tim Murphy, an anti-abortion Republican congressman who resigned in October following revelations that he asked a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair to have an abortion.

At first glance, Saccone should be a shoo-in in the district. President Donald Trump won the southwestern Pennsylvania district, which the state GOP gerrymandered to favor Republicans, by nearly 20 percentage points.

But Lamb, a polished speaker with deep roots in the suburbs south of Pittsburgh, is the first formidable candidate the Democratic Party has fielded in the district in several election cycles. In a year of higher-than-normal Democratic enthusiasm, Lamb has drawn significant crowds at campaign events ― often in historically Democratic industrial towns that have increasingly trended conservative in national elections.

Lamb also has the backing of the steel- and coal-heavy district’s influential labor unions. Murphy, who ran uncontested the last two cycles, aligned himself enough with organized labor to secure the endorsement of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in 2016. Saccone, by contrast, is a supporter of right-to-work laws and other anti-labor measures.

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Lamb’s candidacy has spooked top Republicans, including Trump, who held a thinly-veiled pro-Saccone event in the district last week that was supposedly to promote the president’s tax cut law.

Republican super PACs have also dumped millions of dollars of dark money in the race. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), announced this week that it was adding another $1.5 million in TV ads to its effort to take down Lamb.

Republicans have sought to characterize Lamb as a liberal stooge for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Lamb has insisted he would not vote for Pelosi as leader and emphasized his traditional values and commitment to bipartisanship.

In Lamb’s second campaign ad, he fields a question from a military veteran in the district who is angry about partisan gridlock.

“In the military, as you know, when you don’t get the job done, you get relieved,” Lamb tells the man. “We need more of that in Washington.”

This story has been updated to reflect new information about the size of the DCCC ad buy, as well as the NRCC’s investment in response.

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Conor Lamb Nomination

Conor Lamb reacts to winning the Democratic nomination for the 18th District seat inside Washington High School gymnasium, where the nomination convention was being held in Washington, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 19.
Conor Lamb reacts to winning the Democratic nomination for the 18th District seat inside Washington High School gymnasium, where the nomination convention was being held in Washington, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 19.

Saccone Greets Trump

Rick Saccone, the Republican candidate in the special election for Pennsylvania's 18th District, greets President Donald Trump upon arrival at Pittsburgh International Airport on Jan. 18. Trump held a rally in support of the GOP tax cut legislation that doubled as a campaign event for Saccone.
Rick Saccone, the Republican candidate in the special election for Pennsylvania's 18th District, greets President Donald Trump upon arrival at Pittsburgh International Airport on Jan. 18. Trump held a rally in support of the GOP tax cut legislation that doubled as a campaign event for Saccone.

Tim Murphy

The special election was prompted by the sudden resignation of Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.). Murphy, who opposes abortion rights, was caught telling a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair to get an abortion.
The special election was prompted by the sudden resignation of Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.). Murphy, who opposes abortion rights, was caught telling a woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair to get an abortion.
Pennsylvania's 18th District is geographically diverse. It includes affluent suburbs south of Pittsburgh like Mt. Lebanon, pictured here, as well as rural areas and old mill towns.
Pennsylvania's 18th District is geographically diverse. It includes affluent suburbs south of Pittsburgh like Mt. Lebanon, pictured here, as well as rural areas and old mill towns.
Pennsylvania's 18th District also includes rural areas like this stretch of road between Houston and Burgettstown.
Pennsylvania's 18th District also includes rural areas like this stretch of road between Houston and Burgettstown.
Ted Skowvron, a 93-year-old World War II veteran and retired union crane operator, is angry about President Donald Trump. At an event for Democrat Conor Lamb at the American Legion post in Houston, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 13, Skowvron braved the snow and below-freezing temperatures to encourage Lamb to take on the president. <br /><br />"I just wanted to let you know: Get in there and get him out. Cuss if you don't do it. I'm coming down myself,"&nbsp;Skowvron&nbsp;said. "The way Trump talks to people, the way he's treating the world ... He's ruining the country," Skowvron added.
Alex Nakoneczny, 67, a retired coal miner, and Greg McIlheny, 67, owner of Shelley's Pike Inn Diner, are staunch Democrats who planned to vote for Conor Lamb in the special election without knowing much about him. They both supported Bernie Sanders in the 2016 primary and believe he would have defeated Trump in the general election, though they were happy to vote for Hillary Clinton. <br /><br />Trump performed well in the area because young people supported him, according to Nakoneczny. "They're tired of all these promises,"&nbsp;he said. "Everybody's promising 'em, nobody's ever doing nothing." <br /><br />Nakoneczny continued: "As much as Trump sucks, he's telling you, 'I'm putting yinz first. I'm doing what you wanna do.' But he's not doing it the right way, ya know what I mean?"
Tina Dhanse, 48, a supervisor at the local Salvation Army,&nbsp;was not sure how she planned to vote in the special election. Her partner, Don Snedeker, 49, a truck driver, leans conservative, but never votes because he believes it could lead the government to sign him up for jury duty, which would cause him to miss work. Dhanse voted for Donald Trump in November 2016 because he was new to politics. <br /><br />"I'm like, 'You know what: Let somebody in who's been in business that seems to know what he's doing because he's not broke," she recalled. But Dhanse has heard that the GOP tax legislation is "not gonna really do much for the middle class." <br /><br />"The people that make a million dollars, they should be able to give a little more to make businesses give raises. People can't live on $7.25 an hour," Dhanse added. "And the minimum wage hasn't changed for how long? Thirteen years or something like that."
Wes Donahoe, 29, is a medical equipment repair specialist in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. He voted for Libertarian Gary Johnson in the 2016 election and didn't know enough about the special election candidates to decide how he would vote. But he is pretty satisfied with President Donald Trump, including the tax cut bill, which he believes will help him and most people in the middle class. <br /><br />At the same time, Donahoe said the corporate tax cuts will probably not prompt companies to create new jobs. "Just because a company is getting more tax breaks doesn't mean that there's more demand for&nbsp;[their]&nbsp;production or service or anything," he said.
Robert Lintz (left) wishes he could retire, but&nbsp;the 74-year-old does not have a pension or a 401k, so he puts up billboards when the weather is warm enough. He lives on a $1,500 Social Security benefit and another $300 to $400 from the billboard work in warmer months. "I'd just like to be able to afford stuff," he said. <br /><br />Lintz, a lifelong Democrat, voted for Barack Obama but left the top of the ballot blank in 2016. He said he would have rather voted for Mickey Mouse than either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. "I don't think there is a party for working people any more," he said. "They're all the same. Call it Republicats and it would be right now." <br /><br />Hearing Lintz opine at the McDonald's in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, Don Dowler, 72, walked over. Dowler, a retired union member, voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and is inclined to vote Republican in the special election. But if Dowler heard the Republican candidate is anti-labor, he said, "That might affect me, yeah. It depends which way he goes."

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.