Pennsylvania’s Conor Lamb hypes electability in first Senate campaign ad

Rep. Conor Lamb is playing the electability card in the first television ad for his U.S. Senate campaign in the swing state of Pennsylvania.

The 30-second “Must Win” ad introduces the 37-year-old Pittsburgh-area Democrat to statewide voters who may be unfamiliar with his background and drives home the idea that his record makes him the party’s best bet of flipping retiring GOP Sen. Patrick Toomey’s seat.

“Conor Lamb believes our democracy is worth fighting for,” the narrator says in the ad. “As a young man he joined the Marines, then became a federal prosecutor. And when a mob stormed the Capitol on January 6th, Lamb stood up to the Republicans, calling out their lies … Our best chance to beat the Republicans this fall, Lamb has defeated the Trump machine three elections in a row,” the narrator says.

Mr. Lamb splashed onto the national scene in 2018 after winning a special election in a western Pennsylvania congressional district that then-President Donald Trump had carried by 20 points in 2016.

Mr. Lamb, though, has his work cut out for him in the Democratic nomination race against Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.

Mr. Fetterman and Mr. Kenyatta are the preferred picks of liberal activists, while Mr. Lamb is seeking to convince voters that his centrist brand is a better fit for Pennsylvania and will be more appealing to swing voters that could make or break the November election.

Democrats and Republicans are laser-focused on winning the seat — both parties see the contest as critical in the battle to control the Senate next year.

Mr. Lamb is widely viewed as the more traditional pick to represent the party in the general election.

But he has trailed Mr. Fetterman both in the polls and in fundraising. The latest financials showed Mr. Fetterman had raised over $11 million through the end of last year and had $5.3 million in the bank.

Mr. Lamb, who entered the race six months after Mr. Fetterman, had pulled in nearly $4 million and had about $3 million cash on hand.

Mr. Lamb has more support within the state party, but failed to secure enough backing to win an endorsement, adding to the sense of urgency around his campaign.