In the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th district, Conor Lamb has split ways with the national party.

By Elaine Godfrey @ TheAtlantic.com, March 5

[....] Lamb, a former federal prosecutor and a Marine, is running against the Republican Rick Saccone to fill the congressional seat vacated by Tim Murphy, the district’s longtime Republican representative. Murphy resigned in October after it was revealed that he had an extramarital affair and asked his mistress to get an abortion. Despite having 70,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, the district—which encompasses parts of Allegheny, Washington, Greene, and Westmoreland Counties—tends to elect Republicans: Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton here by 20 points in the 2016 presidential election, and Mitt Romney and John McCain both won by similar margins. Murphy, who held the seat for 15 years, ran uncontested in the last two elections.

But for the first time in decades, the race is competitive [.....]