Conor Lamb defeats Trump-backed challenger for reelection in Pennsylvania

Rep. Conor Lamb (D) was projected to win reelection Friday in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District in the western part of the state, defeating Army veteran and author Sean Parnell.

The Associated Press called the race at 11:41 a.m. EST.

Lamb made bipartisanship a focus of his reelection campaign, pointing out that most of his congressional votes have been on bipartisan bills. But Parnell criticized Lamb for voting to impeach President Trump and sought to link Lamb to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and prominent progressive lawmakers.

Lamb did not vote for Pelosi as Speaker in 2019 and instead backed Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Parnell, previously a regular guest on Fox News, was touted by Trump shortly before entering the race, with the president calling him a “fantastic military man.”

Lamb, a Marine Corps veteran and former federal prosecutor, was first elected to Congress in 2018, winning a special election after former Rep. Tim Murphy (R) resigned. In the 2018 general election, Lamb defeated then-Rep. Keith Rothfus (R) after Pennsylvania’s House districts were redrawn.

The Cook Political report had listed the 17th district race as “lean Democratic,” but shifted it to “likely Democratic” the day before the election.