Democrat Lamb claims victory in Pennsylvania special election

Democrat Conor Lamb has claimed victory in Pennsylvania’s special House election in what seems to be a clear message to Republicans prior to November’s midterm elections.

Early on Wednesday, Lamb, 33, declared victory over Republican Rick Saccone, 60, in a high-profile battle, but Saccone said he was still hopeful.

According to the most recent results, Lamb was leading Saccone by fewer than 900 votes, with state officials saying there were almost 3,900 absentee ballots still have to be counted.

“It took a little longer than we thought,” Lamb, a former Marine, told supporters. “We followed what I learned in the Marines – leave no one behind. We went everywhere; we talked to everyone; we invited everyone in.”

Saccone, on the other hand, told supporters that "we are going to fight all the way to the end."

"We are not giving up," he noted.

The vote is seen as a referendum on Donald Trump's performance as president, who won the Pennsylvania 18th Congressional District by 20 points in the 2016 presidential election.

In a press release, Ben Ray Lujan, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, preemptively congratulated Lamb on his “incredible victory,” insisting that “these results should terrify Republicans.”

“Despite their home field advantage and the millions of dollars outside groups poured into this race, Republicans found that their attacks against Conor, including their unpopular tax scam, were not believable,” he said.

Saccone had earlier vowed that he would be Trump's "wingman," saying that the president "needs some help down there [in Washington]."

Lamb and Saccone could face off again in eight months, though they may not meet in the same district.

In January, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the state’s congressional district boundaries were unjustly gerrymandered to help Republicans.

The congressional district will probably lose its current shape next year after a court ordered redrawing of the state's district maps.

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