Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone and Democratic former prosecutor Conor Lamb square off Tuesday in a special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th District.
Here’s a look at where the candidates stand on several key issues in the race:
Conor Lamb
Health care: Lamb criticized the GOP attempt to repeal Obamacare and called for bipartisan efforts to stabilize its markets. “I’ll work with anyone from either party who wants to help people with pre-existing conditions, improve the quality of care, and reduce premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and prescription drug prices,” he says on his campaign website.
Taxes: He called the GOP tax bill a “giveaway” to wealthy Americans and said he supports cuts for the middle class. “We didn’t need to add a penny to our debt to have the tax cut for our working and middle-class people,” Lamb said in a debate.
Gun control: He’s called for a stronger system of background checks but no new gun restrictions. “I believe we have a pretty good law on the books and it says on paper that there are a lot of people who should never get guns in their hands,” Lamb said.
Tariffs: He supports President Donald Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs, saying at a debate that “we have to take some action to level the playing field.”
Abortion: Lamb personally opposes abortion but backs the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing it. “Once you make something a right, it’s a right. And it’s like that for a reason,” he told HuffPost. Lamb told the Weekly Standard he doesn’t support a ban on abortion at 20 weeks.
Rick Saccone
Health care: He says he wants to repeal Obamacare and his campaign website calls for utilizing “free-market principles to fix our health care crisis.”
Taxes: Backed the GOP tax bill. “It’s not the ‘crumbs’ that Nancy Pelosi and her crew on the left say,” Saccone said in a debate. “These people are very happy to have the bonuses that they received.”
Gun control: Saccone has an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association and has opposed new gun restrictions.
Tariffs: In a statement, his campaign said if tariffs are necessary “to protect steel and aluminum jobs in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Rick would support those measures.”
Abortion: Saccone opposes abortion rights and touts the endorsement of National Right to Life and other anti-abortion groups.
