Conor Lamb loses U.S. Senate bid; Mihalek wins in 40th District race
Since he won a special congressional election in 2018, it’s been widely assumed that U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb has a promising political career ahead of him. That could still be the case, but the next step on the career ladder will not be as a U.S. senator.
In the Tuesday primary, Lamb, a Mt. Lebanon native, lost his bid to become the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat soon to be vacated by incumbent Republican Pat Toomey. Lamb lost to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman by a 33-point margin across Pennsylvania, with Lamb taking 26% of the vote to Fetterman’s 59%. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia took 10%. Fetterman won every county in the state.
In a statement released by Lamb’s campaign Tuesday, he said he would get behind Fetterman’s candidacy.
“I entered this campaign knowing it would be tough, but I believed Democratic voters in Pennsylvania deserved a primary campaign with a real debate focused on the issues so that we win in November,” he explained, adding that he would support Fetterman in the general election.
“Our entire democracy is on the line in November. Democrats need to be unequivocally united in defense of this democracy, and we will be. … I will do everything I can to help Democrats win.”
Lamb gave up his 17th District congressional seat to pursue the Senate bid, and Democrats nominated voting rights attorney Chris DeLuzio to be Lamb’s replacement. He will face off in the fall against Republican Jeremy Shaffer, a former Ross Township commissioner. The primary race on the Democratic side in the 12th Congressional District remained up in the air Wednesday afternoon, as state Rep. Summer Lee held a slender lead over Steve Irwin, an attorney based in Squirrel Hill. The congressional district, which includes Bethel Park, Bridgeville and Upper St. Clair, did not have an incumbent running in this cycle thanks to the retirement of veteran congressman Mike Doyle. Whether Lee or Irwin ultimately prevail, they will be facing a Republican opponent named, coincidentally enough, Michael Doyle in the fall.
Few state lawmakers faced competitive primary elections this cycle, with the exception being in the 40th Legislative District, where Republican incumbent Natalie Mihalek held off a challenge from Peters Township resident Stephen Renz, who asserted he was the “true conservative” in the contest. Mihalek took 53% of the vote to Renz’s 47%. The 40th Legislative District includes parts of Allegheny and Washington counties, and Renz won more of the vote in the Washington County portion of the district, while Mihalek triumphed decisively in the Allegheny County slice.