Incumbent U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb retains 17th House District seat

Three days after he declared victory, U.S. Rep Conor Lamb appears to have won re-election in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District in a tight race with his Republican challenger.

The Associated Press called the race Saturday morning in Lamb’s favor over Sean Parnell.

Around noon, Lamb expressed gratitude on his Twitter account.

“Thank you to the people of PA17 for putting your trust in me to continue serving you in Congress,” he wrote. “Thank you to everyone who voted and made this election possible under such difficult circumstances. We did it. You did it.”

Campaign staff for Lamb and Parnell could not immediately be reached Saturday.

Lamb, 36, of Mt. Lebanon, was winning by about 9,000 votes Saturday, according to unofficial returns.

He declared victory Wednesday when incomplete results showed him holding a 700-vote lead over Parnell. That lead grew Thursday to 4,300 votes as mail in ballots were processed.

Parnell, 39, of Ohio Township, refused on Thursday to concede to the Democratic incumbent until all eligible votes have been reported and a clear winner is verified. A candidate backed by President Donald Trump, Parnell is a former Army Ranger platoon leader in Afghanistan and Fox News contributor originally from Murrysville.

Trump has indicated he plans legal challenges to the outcome of the presidential race. The Associated Press predicted Saturday that Democrat Joe Biden will win the race for the White House.

Lamb became a Democratic star in 2018 when he won two races in two districts that had been hostile to Democrats. One was a special election in a district Trump won by 20 percentage points and a general election in a redrawn district against a three-term incumbent. Lamb is former federal prosecutor and Marine Corps officer.