State Rep. Fred Keller (R) defeated college professor Marc Friedenberg (D) in a special election to fill the vacant seat representing Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House. As of 10:55 p.m. E.T., Keller had received 71 percent of the vote while Friedenberg had received 29 percent with 66 percent of precincts reporting.
The vacancy occurred following the resignation of former Rep. Tom Marino (R) on January 23, 2019. He beat Friedenberg by 32 points in November 2018. Donald Trump (R) won the district by 36 points in the 2016 presidential election.
This was the first special election during the 116th Congress. So far in 2019, there have been four special elections called during the 116th Congress. Three of those are for seats in the U.S. House, and one is for a seat in the U.S. Senate. From the 113th Congress to the 115th Congress, a total of 40 special elections were held.
