Pennsylvania Republican Fred Keller projected to win special House election

Pennsylvania state Rep. Fred Keller was projected to easily defeat Democrat Marc Friedenberg in Tuesday’s special election to represent the Keystone State’s 12th District in the House of Representatives.

With 81 percent of precincts reporting, Keller had received 70 percent of the vote, compared to 30 percent for Friedenberg.

Keller would complete the two-year term begun by Republican Tom Marino, who resigned in January, just three weeks into his fifth House term. With Keller’s victory, the House comprises 235 Democrats and 198 Republicans. Two seats in North Carolina are vacant pending the outcome of special elections later this year.

Tuesday’s result is no surprise, as the 12th District is solidly Republican and voters there backed Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election by a margin of better than 2 to 1 over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Watch: Abdul El-Sayed Has His Hillary Clinton ‘Hot Sauce in Purse’ Moment in Cringey, Pandering Interview

Democrats Plotting to Use Bitter Ex-Girlfriend to Take Down Elon Musk

Judge Trump called a ‘lunatic’ abruptly backs off demand after showdown with DOJ No. 3

Trump says Ilhan Omar could go to jail or be deported, calls her ‘a disgrace to our country’

Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner’s office faces subpoenas after judicial referral

Declassified Docs Show State Dept.’s Testimony During 2019 Trump Impeachment Was Radically Different from Reality

Reporter’s Notebook: A Democratic majority could expose the limits of the progressive agenda

Ilhan Omar’s daughters show up at scene of DC raid as rumors swirl about embattled rep’s whereabouts

JD Vance Calls Out Abdul El-Sayed’s Most Confusing Lie That Reveals a ‘Revulsion Toward Native-Born Americans’

Putin wants Xi at the Ukraine negotiating table with Trump. Here’s why

NY cop calls for police protections after protester he arrested showed up to his house, harassed his family

Madison Brooks rape suspect’s attorney held in contempt for using her name to try to ban pink in courtroom

Zelenskyy Holds Closed-Door Meeting with U.S. Senators, Urges Them to Turn Up the Heat on Trump

Breaking: Social Security Administration Cleans Up Records, Correctly Marks Millions as Deceased

Latest US-Ukraine tensions could determine these battleground races

Trump himself urged his supporters to back Keller at a Monday night rally in Montoursville, telling the fifth-term state legislator, “We’ve got to win tomorrow, Fred.” He endorsed Keller on Twitter earlier Tuesday, calling the Republican “Strong on Crime, Second Amendment, Military, Vets, and Healthcare,” and saying Keller had “my Complete and Total Endorsement!”

Pennsylvania – Don’t forget to get out and VOTE TODAY for Republican Fred Keller for Congress. Fred is Strong on Crime, Second Amendment, Military, Vets, and Healthcare. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2019

Keller reciprocated Trump’s support Monday night, offering a rousing endorsement of the president and vowing to support his policies in Congress, saying the people of the district “have been behind you since Day One, and, Mr. President, our support for you is as strong today as it ever was.”

He also said, “In 2016, Pennsylvania put Donald Trump over the top, and in 2020, we’re going to do it again.”