'It's not over yet:' Nail-biter Pennsylvania special election heads into 2nd day - CNN Politics

'It's not over yet:' Nail-biter Pennsylvania special election heads into 2nd day
Eric Bradner
By Eric Bradner, CNN

Updated 0559 GMT (1359 HKT) March 14, 2018
Conor Lamb speech

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Atlantic Aviation in Moon Township, Pa., Saturday, March 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
GOP candidate struggling in state Trump won

Smerconish: Passion will win PA election

Voters divided ahead of Pennsylvania election
pennsylvania 18th special election conor lamb rick saccone unions tariff steel trump orig_00014326.jpg
Steel district may flip despite Trump tariffs
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 6: Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a rally in support of Democratic congressional candidate Conor Lamb Tuesday March 6, 2018 at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. Lamb is running in a tight race for the vacated seat of Congressman Tim Murphy against Rick Saccone. President Donald Trump plans to visit Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District March 10, 2018 in a bid to help  Saccone. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Biden campaigns for Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania
Rick Saccaone
'Trump 2.0' runs for Congress in Pennsylvania

MAGIC WALL: All Eyes on PA-18
Conor Lamb speechNOW PLAYING
Conor Lamb claims victory in PA House race

Message for Republicans? 'The House is on fire'
rick saccone
Saccone: We're not giving up, going to win it
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 9: Rick Saccone, Republican Congressional candidate for Pennsylvania's 18th district, speaks to reporters at the Republican Committee of Allegheny County offices, March 9, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Saccone is running in a tight race for the vacated seat of Congressman Tim Murphy against Democratic candidate Conor Lamb. President Trump will travel to Pennsylvania on Saturday for a campaign rally with Saccone. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
King: Possible Saccone can win but unlikely
A cameraman takes footage of the signs for the two candidates outside a polling place in the special election being held for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Republican Rick Saccone had just voted at the site. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
PA county to count absentee ballots tonight
ELIZABETH, PA - MARCH 12: Rick Saccone, Republican Congressional candidate for Pennsylvania's 18th district, speaks at a campaign rally at the Blaine Hill Volunteer Fire Department, March 12, 2018 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. Saccone is running in a tight race for the vacated seat of Congressman Tim Murphy against Democratic candidate Conor Lamb. Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday for the special election. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Panelist: Race was determined before Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Atlantic Aviation in Moon Township, Pa., Saturday, March 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
GOP candidate struggling in state Trump won

Smerconish: Passion will win PA election

Voters divided ahead of Pennsylvania election
pennsylvania 18th special election conor lamb rick saccone unions tariff steel trump orig_00014326.jpg
Steel district may flip despite Trump tariffs
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 6: Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at a rally in support of Democratic congressional candidate Conor Lamb Tuesday March 6, 2018 at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. Lamb is running in a tight race for the vacated seat of Congressman Tim Murphy against Rick Saccone. President Donald Trump plans to visit Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District March 10, 2018 in a bid to help  Saccone. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Biden campaigns for Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania
Rick Saccaone
'Trump 2.0' runs for Congress in Pennsylvania

MAGIC WALL: All Eyes on PA-18
Conor Lamb speech
Conor Lamb claims victory in PA House race

Message for Republicans? 'The House is on fire'
rick saccone
Saccone: We're not giving up, going to win it
PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 9: Rick Saccone, Republican Congressional candidate for Pennsylvania's 18th district, speaks to reporters at the Republican Committee of Allegheny County offices, March 9, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Saccone is running in a tight race for the vacated seat of Congressman Tim Murphy against Democratic candidate Conor Lamb. President Trump will travel to Pennsylvania on Saturday for a campaign rally with Saccone. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
King: Possible Saccone can win but unlikely
A cameraman takes footage of the signs for the two candidates outside a polling place in the special election being held for the PA 18th Congressional District vacated by Republican Tim Murphy, Tuesday, March 13, 2018, in McKeesport, Pa. Republican Rick Saccone had just voted at the site. Saccone is running against Democrat Conor Lamb. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
PA county to count absentee ballots tonight
ELIZABETH, PA - MARCH 12: Rick Saccone, Republican Congressional candidate for Pennsylvania's 18th district, speaks at a campaign rally at the Blaine Hill Volunteer Fire Department, March 12, 2018 in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. Saccone is running in a tight race for the vacated seat of Congressman Tim Murphy against Democratic candidate Conor Lamb. Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday for the special election. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Panelist: Race was determined before Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Atlantic Aviation in Moon Township, Pa., Saturday, March 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
GOP candidate struggling in state Trump won
(CNN)Democrat Conor Lamb and Republican Rick Saccone are locked in a neck and neck battle to decide who will represent Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District.

After a long night of drama, the race is still too close to call. Lamb holds a slight lead over Saccone with 100% of the Election Day vote tallied, but absentee and provisional ballots are still being counted. It would be an significant uphill climb for Saccone to overtake Lamb.
Lamb claimed victory in a speech to his supporters Tuesday night.
"It took a little longer than we thought, but we did it," he said. "You did it."
Saccone, however, said he isn't giving up.
"We are still fighting the fight. It's not over yet," Saccone told his supporters more than an hour earlier.
It's a bad sign for Republicans that the 18th District race is razor-tight. President Donald Trump won there by 20 percentage points in 2016, and GOP groups pumped $10.7 million into a months-long effort to stave off an embarrassing loss there. Lamb's performance is ominous for the GOP as it heads into November's midterm elections.
pennsylvaniahouse 18est. 100% in
candidate votes %
lamb 113,720
49.8%
saccone 113,079
49.6%
Even a narrow Lamb win would signal that the GOP is in danger even in districts considered safe for Republicans, raising Democratic hopes of capturing the House and maybe the Senate in November. A Republican loss could lead to more House members retiring rather than running into headwinds in re-election bids. Democrats, meanwhile, would look to replicate Lamb's success in working-class districts with similar demographics.
With no declared winner, both parties took a stab at spinning the available results. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee claimed victory for Lamb in a statement Tuesday night, while the National Republican Congressional Committee said it was "confident" Saccone would win.
Saccone: We're not giving up, going to win it

Saccone: We're not giving up, going to win it 01:47
Earlier in the evening, before it became clear the results would be so close, several Republican officials told CNN they were expecting Saccone to lose. Party officials were placing the blame squarely on Saccone's campaign but also on Trump's Saturday rally for the candidate, which some Republicans believe helped drive up Democratic turnout.
When the race tightened, that outlook improved, with one GOP source telling CNN's Jim Acosta: "This isn't a blowout -- for now, we'll happily take it."
A Republican official told CNN that Trump, who was raising money with GOP donors in Beverly Hills, California, has been asking for updates throughout the evening and is pleasantly surprised by the narrow margin.
Lamb and Saccone were running to replace former GOP Rep. Tim Murphy, who resigned after allegedly urging a woman he was having an affair with to have an abortion.
The stakes are largely psychological: Pennsylvania's Supreme Court recently ruled that its congressional districts were gerrymandered and redrew the map -- meaning both candidates would face choices about where to run if they want to be on the ballot in November.
Manu Raju, Jeff Zeleny, and Jim Acosta contributed to this report.