House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday that the Democratic strategy that led to a close race in Pennsylvania will not be repeated in the upcoming midterms.
“This is something that you’re not going to see repeated because they didn’t have a primary. They were able to pick a candidate who could run as a conservative,” Mr. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, said at the Republican leadership’s weekly press conference.
“You will have primaries in all these other races, and the primaries bring them to the left,” he said.
Mr. Ryan said he would not speculate about the winner in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District race, which is still too close to call. Democrat Conor Lamb is currently leading by a narrow margin, but Republican Rick Saccone has yet to concede.
“The candidate that’s going to win this race is the candidate that ran as a pro-life, pro-gun, anti-Nancy Pelosi conservative. That’s the candidate that’s going to win this race,” Mr. Ryan explained.
Democrats are already pitching the race as a foreshadow of what’s to come for Republicans in November since President Trump won this area by double-digit margins less than two years ago. Republicans, however, say that the district has more registered Democratic voters and is not reflective of any greater trend.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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