Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District special election, 2018/Campaign themes and policy positions

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Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District

General Election Date March 13, 2018

Primary Election Date N/A

Election Winner: Pending

Incumbent prior to the election: Tim Murphy

Race Ratings Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic Inside Elections: Solid Democratic

2017-2018 Special Elections

Democrat Conor Lamb won the special election for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District against Republican Rick Saccone on March 13, 2018, by less than half a point. The race was too close to call immediately following the election, and Saccone conceded to Lamb on March 21.

The special election was held to fill the vacancy created by the departure of incumbent Tim Murphy (R). Murphy announced his resignation in October 2017 following reports that he encouraged a woman with whom he had an extramarital affair to have an abortion. Lamb, Saccone, and Libertarian candidate Drew Miller competed for the seat.

For an overview of the race, click here.

Campaign themes and policy positions

Campaign themes

These are the policy positions listed on the candidates' websites.

Conor Lamb

“	TAKING IMMEDIATE ACTION TO FIGHT THE HEROIN CRISIS Heroin is killing crazy numbers of our people. As a federal prosecutor, I brought heroin dealers to justice and fought for their victims and for the families who have lost loved ones to the disease of addiction. I saw firsthand how prescription pain killers were usually the root cause. I also saw how our government has been too slow to take effective action in this crisis. The President’s declaration that the heroin and opioid epidemic is a national health emergency is important. It was also long overdue. We can’t wait any longer while politicians argue about funding for enforcement, treatment and prevention. We need to leave partisan politics out of this and take urgent, comprehensive action to save lives. We need to invest in prevention. We need to expand access to treatment and rehabilitation. And we need to crack down on the people who are fueling and profiting from this crisis. There are drug dealers on the street, in doctors’ offices, and in drug company boardrooms, and we need to pass legislation that guarantees every one of them will face justice for their crimes. JOBS & INFRASTRUCTURE: NO MORE STALLING Infrastructure – High-quality infrastructure is essential to economic growth here. We need modern airports, roads, and bridges, locks, and dams – to move people and goods into and out of our region, to attract new businesses, and to create jobs. We need a secure, reliable electric grid that cannot fail. We need functioning water treatment systems that keep storm water runoff out of our streets and guarantee safe drinking water. Politicians talk about this all the time, but the fact is we've neglected our critical infrastructure for decades, and every day we fail to act is a missed opportunity. A comprehensive infrastructure bill would create good jobs here tomorrow, and unlike the massive corporate tax cut that just added trillions to the deficit, infrastructure investments pay for themselves. People in our district ask me every day why an infrastructure bill hasn't even been introduced, let alone passed – and the answer is that politicians in Washington aren't listening to us and aren't keeping their promises. Passing an infrastructure bill – a serious bill big enough to match the urgency of the situation -- is an economic and national security priority, and I will fight every day to get it done. Job Training – We have to invest in our people. Politicians in both parties like to talk about job training, but that talk hasn't lived up to the reality for too many students and workers in our region -- and both parties bear the blame for that. We need job training programs that lead to an actual job -- not just a piece of paper. Companies and industry associations say there are thousands of jobs in our region that they can't fill because we don't have workers with the right training and skills. They want public schools and community colleges to help fill that gap, and of course we should do that. I'll fight for those investments, but I'll also make those companies put some skin in the game. If workers successfully complete training programs paid for with our tax dollars, employers need to hire those workers for full-time, family-supporting jobs. AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE I believe that every American has a right to go see a doctor when they're sick, and that means every American has a right to health insurance they can afford. The Affordable Care Act has flaws, but it has provided affordable coverage to more than a million Pennsylvanians who were previously uninsured. Our representatives in Congress should be working together to build on that progress, fix what isn't working, and make the law better. Instead, Republicans in Congress spent the past year trying to take health insurance away from people with no plan to replace it. Now, costs are likely to go up for many of us, especially those with preexisting conditions. That is unacceptable, and it's a failure of leadership. Republican leaders have not even allowed a vote on a bipartisan, common-sense effort to strengthen the ACA and stabilize the markets. And it took the threat of a government shutdown for both parties to come together and fund the children's health program (CHIP), something they'd ignored for months while the program was forced to survive on week-to-week bailouts. These legislative failures show what is wrong with the status quo in Washington. I'll work with anyone from either party who wants to help people with pre-existing conditions, improve the quality of care, and reduce premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and prescription drug prices. PROTECTING MEDICARE & SOCIAL SECURITY Within 12 hours of giving away our tax dollars to the wealthy and big corporations, Speaker Paul Ryan announced that he would try to pay for it by coming after Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid. It didn't take long for the Republican leadership in Washington to make clear that once they drove this nation another $1.5 trillion in debt, they were going to use that as an excuse to cut the programs seniors depend on and paid into all their lives. They call this "entitlement reform," but make no mistake – that is just fancy Washington talk for taking the money you paid your whole working life and using it to cover the trillion dollars they just added to the debt. It's not right, and I will fight every attempt to break the promises we made to our senior citizens, working families and children. RELEASING STUDENTS FROM LIFETIME DEBT TRAPS We need to reform our student loan system, which right now forces too many students into a lifetime debt trap. If you want to go to college or get other post-secondary education, you should be able to do that without taking on decades worth of debt. Too many people in our district are already stuck with interest payments they can't afford at a time when they should be buying houses, saving their money and becoming financially independent. We need to allow people to refinance their student loans, just as we do for corporations and credit card holders. And I believe we should let people pay at least some portion of their student loans with pre-tax dollars. I also support programs that help people pay back their loans when they take important public service jobs in under-served communities and under-populated professions. Some of those programs exist for certain disciplines, but I'll work to expand them. If you want to use your education to serve the public and help meet an urgent public need, the government should help you pay back the cost of that education. UNIONS I support unions, and I'm proud to be endorsed by the AFL-CIO. I believe that all workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively for better wages, benefits and working conditions. And I know that when unions do the work, it gets done on time and on budget. Union members in our district can count on me to be the most effective ally they have in fighting to protect their rights, support prevailing wages and Project Labor Agreements, and defeat the ideological extremists who want to put unions out of existence. MODERN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT I support robust and responsible energy development. Natural gas extraction is creating and supporting a lot of good, middle-class jobs in our region, and I want more of those jobs for our people. That means investing in training so people in our district have the skills they need to do these jobs, and it means pushing energy companies to hire people in our communities. People who live here and send their kids to school here will do the work safely and responsibly, so that our families and future generations are breathing clean air and drinking clean water. Government should not be an impediment to energy development and job creation, but we rely on government to enforce the law and hold companies accountable if they endanger workers or pollute our air or water. For purely political reasons, this administration wants to undermine our government's ability to perform basic inspection and law enforcement activities -- just as Harrisburg has done here with our state enforcement activities. That's a mistake, and I'll work to ensure that our government has the necessary resources to do its job, keep workers safe, and protect our air and water.	”
—Conor Lamb for Congress

Rick Saccone

“	Lower Taxes As State Representative, Rick Saccone passed 6 balanced budgets with zero tax increases while still providing the highest education spending in Pennsylvania history. More Jobs A business leader, Rick Saccone was named a “Guardian of Small Business” by the National Federation of Independent Business for his pro-business legislative record. Government Reform Rick Saccone championed legislation that cut wasteful spending, reduced the size of the legislature, and banned gifts to elected officials. Fixing Obamacare Under Obamacare, health insurance has become unaffordable. Rick Saccone will utilize free-market principles to fix our healthcare crisis. Immigration Reform Rick Saccone will fight for intense vetting of immigrants coming from terror-training countries. He supports Kate’s Law and securing our borders. Keep Us Safe Rick Saccone took down terrorists in Iraq and successfully negotiated with the North Koreans. He knows what it takes to protect Americans.	”
—Rick Saccone for Congress

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Pennsylvania heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2016 elections, Democrats and Republicans each held one U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania.
• Republicans held 12 of 17 U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania.

State executives

• As of May 2018, Democrats held five of 11 state executive positions, while six were held by nonpartisan officials.
• The governor of Pennsylvania was Democrat Tom Wolf.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. They had a 120-79 majority in the state House and a 33-16 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Pennsylvania was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Tom Wolf (D) served as governor, while Republicans controlled the state legislature.

2018 elections

See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2018

Pennsylvania held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• One U.S. Senate seat
• 18 U.S. House seats
• Governor and lieutenant governor
• 25 of 50 state Senate seats
• 203 state House seats

Demographics

Demographic data for Pennsylvania
	Pennsylvania	U.S.
Total population:	12,791,904	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	44,743	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	81.6%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11%	12.6%
Asian:	3.1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.2%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	89.2%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	28.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,599	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Pennsylvania. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2017, Pennsylvania had a population of approximately 12,800,000 people, with its three largest cities being Philadelphia (pop. est. 1.6 million), Pittsburgh (pop. est. 300,000), and Allentown (pop. est. 120,000).

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Pennsylvania Department of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Pennsylvania every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Pennsylvania 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	48.6%	Hillary Clinton	47.9%	0.7%
2012	Barack Obama	52.1%	Mitt Romney	46.7%	5.4%
2008	Barack Obama	54.7%	John McCain	44.3%	10.4%
2004	John Kerry	51.0%	George Bush	48.5%	2.5%
2000	Al Gore	50.6%	George Bush	46.4%	4.2%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Pennsylvania 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Patrick Toomey	48.8%	Katie McGinty	47.3%	1.5%
2012	Bob Casey	53.7%	Tom Smith	44.6%	9.1%
2010	Patrick Toomey	51.0%	Joe Sestak	49.0%	2.0%
2006	Bob Casey	58.7%	Rick Santorum	41.3%	17.4%
2004	Arlen Specter	52.6%	Joseph Hoeffel	42.0%	10.6%
2000	Rick Santorum	52.4%	Ron Klink	45.5%	6.9%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Pennsylvania.

Election results (Governor), Pennsylvania 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Tom Wolf	54.9%	Thomas Corbett	45.1%	9.8%
2010	Thomas Corbett	54.5%	Dan Onorato	45.5%	9.0%
2006	Ed Rendell	60.4%	Lynn Swann	39.6%	20.8%
2002	Ed Rendell	53.4%	Mike Fisher	44.3%	9.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Pennsylvania 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	13	72.2%	5	27.8%	R+8
2014	13	72.2%	5	27.8%	R+8
2012	13	72.2%	5	27.8%	R+8
2010	12	63.2%	7	36.8%	R+5
2008	7	36.8%	12	63.2%	D+5
2006	8	42.1%	11	57.9%	D+3
2004	12	63.2%	7	36.8%	R+5
2002	12	63.2%	7	36.8%	R+5
2000	11	52.4%	10	47.6%	R+1

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Pennsylvania Party Control: 1992-2025
One year of a Democratic trifecta  •  Twelve years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	_

See also

• Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018)
• Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District special election, 2018
• Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District
• Tim Murphy (Pennsylvania)

Footnotes

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Pennsylvania's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

John Fetterman (D)

David McCormick (R)

Representatives

District 1

Brian Fitzpatrick (R)

District 2

Brendan Boyle (D)

District 3

Dwight Evans (D)

District 4

Madeleine Dean (D)

District 5

Mary Scanlon (D)

District 6

Chrissy Houlahan (D)

District 7

Ryan Mackenzie (R)

District 8

Rob Bresnahan (R)

District 9

Dan Meuser (R)

District 10

Scott Perry (R)

District 11

Lloyd Smucker (R)

District 12

Summer Lee (D)

District 13

John Joyce (R)

District 14

Guy Reschenthaler (R)

District 15

Glenn Thompson (R)

District 16

Mike Kelly (R)

District 17

Chris Deluzio (D)

Republican Party (11)

Democratic Party (8)