Biden to campaign in Pa. House special election
Former Vice President Joe Biden will campaign with special election candidate Conor Lamb next week, as the Democrat hopes to pull off an upset in a deep-red House district.
Biden, who is one of the party’s best surrogates for appealing to rural voters, will make two stops on Tuesday, just one week before voters cast their ballots.
“Conor Lamb will be a champion for the working people of southwestern Pennsylvania,” Biden said in a statement released by Lamb’s campaign.
“He’s not afraid to say the word ‘union’. I know he will stand up for the people of his district, whether it means protecting Social Security and Medicare, or fighting to create good, quality jobs you can support a family on.”
Lamb has closed the gap between him and Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone, with recent polling showing Lamb trailing by just a few percentage points.
Republicans have flooded the district with resources in an attempt to avoid an upset in a district President Trump carried by 20 points in 2016. Outside Republican groups have dropped millions of dollars on advertisements, while the Congressional Leadership Fund, aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), is coupling its robust fleet of television ads with a 50-person ground game.
Vice President Pence traveled to the district last month, and President Trump, who spoke in the district at an official event earlier this year, is expected to return for a campaign rally before the March 13 election.
Because of the district’s conservative bent, Democrats and Lamb’s campaign have sought to keep the national party at a distance. He’s promised to vote against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (Calif.) bid to remain in leadership if he wins, and bucked calls for increased gun control following the recent shooting at a Florida high school.
But Biden remains popular. He sported a 67-percent favorability rating in a December CNN poll with strong marks among independents and political moderates. That’s why Democrats, particularly those in rural or more conservative districts, are hopeful he can be a strong surrogate on the campaign trail.
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