GOP looks to avoid PA upset
President Trump will touch down in Pennsylvania on Thursday, where he’ll make an appearance in the Pittsburgh-area district that’s home to the next high-profile special House election.
Trump is scheduled to give a speech at a local manufacturing plant — not to hold a campaign event for GOP state Rep. Rick Saccone, who is running in the March 13 special election and is expected to be in the audience.
But Trump’s appearance in the district, coupled with reports that Vice President Pence will travel to the district in the coming weeks, underscores the heavy investments Republicans are making to prevent Democrats from pulling off another special election upset.
Pennsylvania’s 18th District seat is now vacant thanks to former Rep. Tim Murphy’s (R) resignation, sparked by allegations surrounding an affair. Murphy had long faced little electoral opposition in the district, a stretch of suburban and rural areas surrounding Pittsburgh.
Democrats have the registration advantage in the overwhelmingly white congressional district, and can count on support from local unions. But the more conservative voters still lean heavily in favor of the Republican Party, and the district lacks the strong minority population that Democrats have mobilized to boost their vote share in recent wins.
Aware of the implications of how another Democratic upset would affect GOP momentum going into the 2018 midterm elections, Republicans are flooding the district with resources.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/369464-gop-looks-to-avoid-pa-upset
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