A Democrat has declared victory after a cliffhanger Pennsylvania election for a congressional district that Donald Trump won by 20 points two years ago.
There is no official result, but Conor Lamb and Republican opponent Rick Saccone were neck-and-neck in the solidly conservative 18th district.
Republican sway over the district is so strong that Democrats have run no candidates in the previous two votes.
The contest could set the tone for November’s US mid-term polls.
With votes counted in every precinct of the working-class district, Mr Lamb has 49.8% – just ahead of Mr Saccone (49.6%).
The gap between the two rivals is just a few hundred votes, and absentee ballots are now being counted.
Despite this, Mr Lamb claimed victory late on Tuesday. “It took a little longer than we thought but we did it. You did it,” he told his supporters.
But Mr Saccone has not conceded the race, and there are no official final results.
Why is the race important?
The outcome could shape the contours of the mid-term elections, when Republicans will fight to keep their majority in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate.
Democrats need 24 seats to win back control of the House, which would be the first time they would control the chamber since 2010.
The president has visited the district twice during the campaign, while Republicans have spent millions of dollars to keep a firm Republican grasp on the seat.
The vice-president, the president’s eldest son and daughter have also visited the state to campaign.
Democrats hope a victory could add momentum to the party’s campaign for the mid-term elections in November.
Who are the candidates?
Marine veteran Conor Lamb, a 33-year-old former prosecutor, has promised not to support Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and has taken up relatively conservative positions for his party.
He has said he opposes new gun restrictions, but backs expanded background checks, and declared himself personally opposed to abortion.
Mr Lamb has managed to out-fundraise his competitor by nearly 500%, and has drawn the support of labour groups that Republicans hoped to court with Mr Trump’s new tariffs and tax cuts.
His Republican opponent Rick Saccone, 60, is a four-term state lawmaker, Air Force veteran and former counterintelligence officer who has referred to himself as Mr Trump’s “wingman”.
He was criticised late in the campaign by saying some of his opponents “have a hatred for God”.
Mr Saccone – who has called himself “Trump before Trump was Trump” – said as the results came in that he would “fight all the way to the end”.
“You know I never give up,” he told his supporters.
Despite Mr Trump’s 75-minute rally in his district on Saturday, the president has told those around him that he views Mr Saccone as a “weak” candidate, Axios reported.
The two are competing to replace Tim Murphy, who resigned last October after admitting to an extramarital affair.
Source: BBC
