Is Democratic Win in PA-18 Race the Shape of Things to Come In Next Specials?

No sooner had Democrat Conor Lamb claimed victory in the nationally-watched special election in Pennsylvania’s 18^th District Tuesday than the speculation started about the next two U.S. House special elections this year.  

While it is unclear after the first special election of the year, there are other contests coming up sure to draw national attention and perhaps serve as clues as to whether a Democratic tidal wave is in the works.

The next special election for the House will be on April 24.  The site is Arizona’s 8^th District, also a district in which Trump won by 20-plus points in 2016, and which Republican Rep. Trent Franks resigned last December following revelations he had approached a staffer about being a surrogate mother.

Republican Debbie Lesko, a former state senator and Trump-style populist, is the favorite. Campaigning hard on securing the border, building a wall on the Mexican border, and protecting the Second Amendment, she has a strong following on the right.

But Lesko also connects with women in her district by recalling how she left an “abusive husband” 25 years ago and making the case that “domestic violence is a very prevalent problem, and it can happen to anyone.” 

Democrats have a strong candidate in Dr. Hiral Tiperneni, a former emergency room physician running as one who believes “when progressives and conservatives work together, we can accomplish great things.”

Only once—1980-82—in 88 years has Ohio’s 12^th District (Columbus) sent a Democrat to Congress.  But with the resignation of Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi to head the Ohio Business Roundtable, Democrats feel they have a fighting chance.

Their almost-certain nominee is former Franklin County Sheriff Zach Scott, a party maverick who challenged the incumbent mayor of Columbus. Ten Republicans are vying for in the May 8 primary, with the favorites being State Sen. Troy Balderson and Delaware County Prosecutor Carol O’Brien.  Both are considered center-right Republicans in the mold of Tiberi and his predecessor in Congress, Gov. John Kasich.

The special election is scheduled for August 7. 

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.