Article snippet: For the past five months, Democrats and Republicans alike have been pouring money into the next special election that takes place Tuesday in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional district. Feeling bullish after big wins in other special elections last year and enjoying a groundswell of grassroots activism these days, Democrats are hoping a win in this ruby red district will not only make it easier for them to take back the House in November, but also send a message that their candidates can play in any part of the country. But while both sides have decided that the race is worth digging deep into their pocketbooks, the fact remains that, unlike Virginia and part of Georgia where candidates also went head to head last year, this area in Pennsylvania voted solidly and overwhelmingly Republican in 2016. According to our ABC News analysis, Democrat Conor Lamb would need to pull off an electorate trifecta of sorts to win the race, by greatly increasing the Democrat turnout over what it would typically be in a midterm or special election, convincing moderate or swing voters to go blue and lucking out with depressed Republican turnout. President Donald Trump won this area by 20 points in 2016, and even in the most heavily Democratic precincts in the district right around Pittsburgh, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton only won on average 56 percent of the vote. By comparison, nearly half of the total votes cast in the district in 2016, came from precinct... Link to the full article to read more