Dear Commons Community,
As well-reported in the past two days, Conor Lamb’s victory in Tuesday’s special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District was an incredible victory for the Democrats. The 18th was considered a safe “red’ district that Donald Trump won by a 20 point margin in 2016. Lamb’s strategy was not to tow the national Democratic Party line but to run a very independent campaign that appealed to local constituents. He did not bash Trump. He had a modified stance on abortion. He was not a fan of Nancy Pelosi. In sum, he did not say anything that would rile up Republicans to come out and vote against him. To the contrary, some Republicans who voted for Trump, voted for him. In this very red district, it worked well. The strategy of localizing a campaign to appeal to local residents is a good one. What works in New York City or San Francisco does not necessarily work in the smaller towns and rural areas in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Colorado and other presently “red” Congressional districts.
Democrats take heed!
Tony
