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RCP: Trump Visit Shows High Stakes for Pa. Special Election

President Trump’s visit to western Pennsylvania on Thursday is the latest sign of GOP concern over a special election that could fuel Democrats’ hopes for a wave election this fall — or stifle that enthusiasm as Republicans seek to maintain their congressional majorities.

Unlike the battlegrounds in last year’s high-stakes special elections, Pennsylvania’s 18th District is mostly white, rural and filled with blue-collar workers; though Democrats maintain a registration advantage, it voted heavily for Trump in 2016.

The outcome of the March 13 face-off there provides a test case for whether Democrats can win back the working-class vote that fled the party in droves to support Trump, and whether Republicans can transfer the president’s popularity with his base and generate enough enthusiasm to limit losses this fall.

Citizens United, a GOP group run by David Bossie, Trump’s former deputy campaign manager, endorsed Saccone on Wednesday, and Republicans maintain an edge in early advertising: Ending Spending, a Republican super PAC backed by billionaire Joe Ricketts, pledged $1 million earlier this month, and has been running ads both in favor of the Republican and against the Democrat, Conor Lamb.

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