Jewish Groups That Helped Democrat Win In Pennsylvania Cheer His Upset Victory
Supporters of Democrat Conor Lamb after the March 13 Pennsylvania special election Image by Getty Images
By Ron Kampeas March 15, 2018
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Liberal Jewish groups hailed the upset victory of a Democratic congressional candidate in a special election in a Pennsylvania district that President Donald Trump won by 20 points in 2016.
Conor Lamb, a former U.S. Marine and prosecutor who rejected the Democratic establishment in his campaign — but ran on a traditional Democratic platform of opposing tax cuts and preserving social safety nets — eked out a win Tuesday in Pittsburgh’s exurbs.
Lamb, 33, defeated Rick Saccone, a representative in the state House, by 627 votes. There are an estimated 11,000 Jews in the 18th District, which has an overall population of 710,000.
With a margin so thin, Jewish groups that had campaigned for Lamb were quick to say their contributions helped make the difference.
“We’re still flying high from Conor Lamb’s victory on Tuesday,” said J Street PAC, the political action committee affiliated with the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, in a fundraising email for another J Street-backed candidate in Illinois, Marie Newman.
J Street PAC endorsed Lamb on Jan. 31 and raised $60,000 for him from more than 225 donors.
The Pittsburgh branch of Bend the Arc, a Jewish social action group, set up a phone bank and knocked on doors to get out the vote for Lamb, a spokesman said. The Jewish Democratic Council of America ran an ad in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle and an op-ed by one of its board members.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
