Republicans trash their candidate in Pa. special election

[workinclasszero]

Republicans trash their candidate in Pa. special election
The GOP is bracing for an embarrassing defeat next week in a district Donald Trump won by 20 points.
By ALEX ISENSTADT 03/07/2018 06:25 PM EST


Shortly after the new year, Rep. Steve Stivers, the House GOP campaign chief, delivered a stern message to Rick Saccone, the party's special election candidate in Pennsylvania.

You need to start pulling your weight, Stivers implored Saccone, the mustachioed 60-year-old state legislator who is carrying the weight of the Republican Party in a crucial contest next week.

Stivers’ warning, described by two people familiar with the discussion, was intended to put the candidate on notice. The national GOP would be helping him out substantially, Stivers said. But if Saccone didn’t start upping his fundraising game and getting his sluggish campaign in order, he could lose a race that should be a gimme for the party.

Tuesday’s special election, which is being held in a district President Donald Trump won by 20 percentage points, has emerged as the latest testing ground of whether Republicans are headed for a midterm bloodbath. A loss would be wholly embarrassing, many Republicans privately acknowledge, given that it would take place in a state that Trump made a cornerstone of his 2016 victory. And the themes that the GOP has highlighted in the special election — namely tax cuts and opposition to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — are the centerpieces of the party’s 2018 campaign plan.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/07/republicans-pennsylvania-special-election-445221

[greymattermom]

1. Is this the race Trump is trying to win by threatening tariffs?

I hope he loses by a lot. How can the Trump voters trust Trump to help them, with all of the back of forth, yes and no that's going on. Maybe they think if they vote for this guy they'll lose their jobs anyway, and any benefits they may have had along with it.

[Caliman73]

3. He relies on the ignorance of his constituents.

Tariffs are typically not effective in what they seek to accomplish, namely protecting an industry. Pennsylvania, being a Steel/Aluminum producing may be thinking that the tariffs will help them to get an equal footing with other exporting countries. The reality is as you say, very different and I don't think that tariffs will ultimately help those industries as much as they think, if at all.

[beachbum bob]

2. old news....national gop and pacs pouring money into the race

on the behalf of a lackluster candidate and only reason that Lamb might be able to pull this out