Rep. Conor Lamb jumps in race for Pat Toomey's Senate seat

U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb announced Friday he is joining the crowded race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat, seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2022 election.

He made it official during an afternoon event before a crowd of about 200 people at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 5 in Pittsburgh’s South Side.

“I am Conor Lamb. I am from here. I left to go to college and law school in Philadelphia, and then I served in the Marines. For the last three years, I have had the honor of representing southwest Pennsylvania in Congress. You all know that,” he said. “But I’m getting ready to introduce myself to people all over our state because starting today, I am running to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate.”

Earlier, in a YouTube video, Lamb said, “I believe this is the most important Senate seat in the country.”

Congressman Conor Lamb announces he’s running for U.S. Senate before a crowd of 200 supporters at IBEW local #5 on Pittsburgh’s South Side. pic.twitter.com/bn8EJn6b1O

— Paul Guggenheimer (@PGuggenheimer) August 6, 2021

Lamb, 37, was dressed casually in a white oxford shirt with no tie and the sleeves rolled up and dark gray slacks. Speaking for a little over 10 minutes, without notes or teleprompter, his remarks echoed the “truth hurts” speech he gave on the House floor in the wee hours following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

“We face opponents who are determined to see us fail. They are lying about the last election, and they’re still trying to overturn it. They remain silent about the attack on our Capitol. They’re making it harder to vote, harder for Black people and brown people and really anyone,” Lamb said.

“It will be the work of our lifetimes to preserve this democracy. It’s not something we can do with tweets and slogans. It will be complicated. But just as Americans have always done, we get to decide what our future looks like.”

Lamb enters a crowded field for the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who is not seeking reelection. So far, 14 Democrats have declared they’re running in the 2022 primary, including Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta and Montgomery County Commissioner Valerie Arkoosh.

“You have four or five Democratic candidates who sort of fit the mold of someone who can get elected,” said G. Terry Madonna, senior fellow for political affairs at Millersville University near Lancaster. “But Democratic voters in the cities across our state are very different from the Democratic voters in rural and small-town Pennsylvania, so we’ll have to see how this plays out. But Lamb has union support, and look where he held his announcement.”

A bevy of union members and labor leaders stood behind Lamb, who made a point of mentioning former AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka, who died Thursday at 72.

“It’s really because of people like him that we are in front of a union hall today,” he said. “I wouldn’t be a member of Congress without the unions. Our democracy was born (in Pittsburgh), as much in the coal mines as the Constitution.”

Lamb, of Mt. Lebanon, is a former federal prosecutor and Marine Corps officer who ascended to Congress winning the support of Donald Trump voters. Lamb beat Trump-backed candidates in two elections in 2018 (the first being a March special election to fill a vacated seat, followed by the general election in November).

The 17th Congressional District includes about half of Allegheny County, including much of the Alle-Kiski Valley and all of Beaver County.

“I talk with Pennsylvanians every day who have come to believe that our democracy is in crisis. And they’re right. The other side denies reality and worships Trump. They’re making it harder to vote and lying about our elections,” Lamb said in his campaign video.

Lamb has the support of Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher.

“My Democratic commissioner colleagues and myself are proud to stand with labor to support Congressman Lamb. It’s time to get back to the values of the middle working class in our Country and Conor is the man to do that for us,” she said.

“We need people that are going to support labor and working-class people in this country,” said Jack Snyder, 67, of Jefferson, who attended the rally. “I just feel Conor has the right demeanor, the right background. I like Fetterman, but I think Conor would be better.”

Katie Leslie, 41, of McCandless said she likes Lamb’s stance on gun violence prevention and health care.

“He’s a good listener and cares about what people have to say,” she said. When asked if she was concerned about Lamb risking his House seat to run for the Senate, Leslie expressed confidence. “I think he will win.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.