Last Updated Mar 13, 2018 8:09 PM EDT
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Republican Rick Saccone and Democrat Conor Lamb are facing off in the Pennsylvania 18th Congressional district special election tonight, as the GOP looks to defend a district Mr. Trump won by 20 points.
The race is a toss-up, according to the Cook Political Report and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball report, and the closeness of the race prompted a visit from President Trump on Saturday. Republicans hoped the president’s appearance would help turn out the vote.
But Saccone’s lackluster fundraising — Lamb’s campaign has out-raised him by nearly 5-1 in the first seven weeks of 2018 — has concerned his party. Lamb, a 33-year-old Marine Corps veteran and former prosecutor, has raised most of his cash from his own campaign, while Saccone has had to look to outside groups.
Follow our live election results updates below:
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Polls closed — too soon to call
It’s 8 p.m., and polls are now closed across the district in southwest Pennsylvania.
But it’s too soon to make any estimates. Results should start rolling in over the next 20-30 minutes.
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Polls closing soon
Polls are closing soon in Pennsylvania’s 18th District, although it’s unlikely results will appear immediately.
But don’t expect this night to go quickly. It’s a tossup, with lots of rural precincts. There are 593 precincts in total. This will likely be a very late night for those watching.
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Voters running out of time to head to polls
Voters have until 8 p.m. to head to the polls in Pennsylvania’s 18th District.
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CBS News interviews Conor Lamb
CBS News had an extensive interview with Lamb on Tuesday.
Lamb said he’s learned a lot throughout this experience.
“I’ve learned how open minded and reasonable people truly are,” “Lamb said. “Everyone gave me a fair shake. Didn’t have a single conversation where someone refused to talk to me based on 2016 or any other election. Been a really cool experience for me.”
If he wins, Lamb would run in a different district in November than he was elected into this month. But that isn’t an issue for him at the moment.
“I think we need to wait and see exactly how the map shakes out,” Lamb said. “But I’m not concerned about it right now. I told the people of this district – the 18th district that I would run for them and I would represent them so for the rest of the year they will be my focus.”
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Kathryn WatsonKathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital.
