Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) thinks that Democrats will turn a long-red part of Pennsylvania blue on Tuesday. “I look forward to calling Conor [Lamb] a colleague in about a week when he gets sworn in,” the Massachusetts Congressman told Cheddar in a recent interview. The showdown for Pennsylvania’s District 18 U.S. House seat is between Lamb, an attorney and former United States Marine, and Republican Rick Saccone, who currently serves in the state legislature. The candidates are vying to fill the seat left vacant by Rep. Tim Murphy, who stepped down amid an extramarital affair scandal last fall. The GOP has held the seat since 2002, and in the 2016 presidential race Donald Trump won the district by 20 points. But this special election is shaping up to be much closer. A Monmouth University [poll](https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/monmouthpoll_pa_031218/) released Monday showed Lamb had a lead over Saccone in three different turnout models. Republicans, who’ve dumped about $8 million into the Saccone campaign compared to the less than $400,000 Democrats gave Lamb, are hoping to avoid an outcome like Roy Moore’s failed Senate run in Alabama last year. And Kennedy said that if Lamb wins, it could send the opposing party a big message. “It’s undoubtedly a warning sign for the presidency and for President Trump specifically,” he said. “I think it’s showing that there’s an awful lot of Americans out there that are recognizing the way that a Republican-led Congress is leading the country is not reflective of their values or visions or what they think is right.” For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/all-eyes-on-close-pa-special-election).

Share:
More In Politics
U.S. Job Growth Slows Sharply in Sign of Hiring Struggles
The recovery of America’s job market hit a pause last month as many businesses — from restaurants and hotels to factories and construction companies — struggled to find enough workers to catch up with a rapidly strengthening economic rebound.
Facebook Board Upholds Trump Suspension
Former President Donald Trump won’t return to Facebook. The social network’s quasi-independent Oversight Board has voted to permanently ban his account after it was suspended four months ago for inciting violence that led to the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Load More