GOP expects recount in Pennsylvania election

Several news outlets declared Democrat Conor Lamb the winner on Wednesday of this week’s Pennsylvania special election, but Republicans could force a recount. With 100 percent of precincts reporting and most absentee ballots counted, Lamb has a lead of 627 votes over Republican Rick Saccone. That places Lamb ahead 49.8 percent to Saccone’s 49.6 percent, which was good enough for The New York Times to declare the Democrat the winner. But the four counties in the Pittsburgh-area district said late Wednesday they still have about 400 uncounted provisional, military, and overseas ballots to review. With the vote margin so close, a recount is likely. On Wednesday, the Saccone campaign delivered letters to the election boards and asked for assurances that each would comply with a possible recount. Meanwhile, Lamb has already told his supporters the race is over and he is the winner. “It’s too soon to say what’s going to happen,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Wednesday on Capitol Hill.