In a race with national implications, Democrat Conor Lamb declared victory in a very close special congressional election held Tuesday in Pennsylvania. Officially, the race has not been called for Lamb, who holds a lead of 627 votes over Republican candidate Rick Saccone, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump. It’s possible Saccone and his supporters may request a recount, given the close vote. Even though Lamb’s apparent victory is narrow, the Pennsylvania result could broaden implications for Republicans looking to defend their congressional majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate in the November midterm elections. Lamb ran surprisingly strong in a district that Trump carried by nearly 20 points, campaigning as a moderate Democrat. “We fought to find common ground, and we found it, almost everywhere. Democrats, Republicans, independents — each of us, Americans,” Lamb told supporters early Wednesday. Saccone was not ready to concede the race. “We are going to fight all the way to the end. You know I never give up.” The Pennsylvania race follows Democratic victories late last year in Virginia and Alabama, fueled in large part by what some analysts see as an anti-Trump theme that continues to build. “The opposition to Donald Trump is as intense as I have seen since the last year of [Richard] Nixon’s presidency," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato via Skype. “It is so intense, it is so hot, that it could result in a much bigger turnover than we think in the midterm elections to the Democrats and away from the Republicans.” Saccone cast himself as the president’s “wingman,” and Trump campaigned on his behalf at a rally last Saturday when Trump urged Republicans to get out and vote. “We want to keep the agenda, the make America great, going. You have got to get him in. This is a very important race,” Trump said. Democrats were thrilled with the result, while some Republicans saw the race as a “wake-up” call for what could be a devastating midterm in November. What of the following is likely true about candidate Rick Saccone? - not enough information - The congressional election was the first time he has run as a candidate. - He has run and failed in previous congressional elections. - He has been vocally unsupportive of President Trump prior to the election.
not enough information
------
"To be real honest, Jeffrey, you're not making much progress," said Greg. "Are you practicing at all?" "Well, yeah. Mom makes me. She sits there watching to make sure I'm getting the right fingering and phrasing." "Hmm. I might need to talk to her about that." Greg hated when kids were forced into musicianship. He had been teaching private music lessons for more than ten years, and had seen it often. Parents made their kids miserable. It rarely worked anyway. "You don't really want to take piano, do you?" "No, Sir." "Well... " "I wish my mom would let me take guitar lessons. That would be cool." "You know you'd get calluses like this." Greg held out left hand and showed Jeffrey his fingertips. "Yeah! My friend, Zach, has calluses. They're hard like plastic." "Well, you know, it hurts for a while--until you build them up." "I don't care. I love the guitar. I've been begging Mom to switch me from piano to guitar." "I'll talk to her." "Great! I already have a guitar and--" "--don't get too excited yet. We'll see what she says." "Thanks, Mr. Tenorly." He jumped up and ran for the front door. Then he stopped, rushed back over to grab his piano books, and raced out the door. Greg's 3:30 lesson had been cancelled, so he now had a thirty minute break. Oftentimes, during a break, he would step outside and wander down the sidewalk, observing the townspeople going in and out of the shops around Coreyville Square. But something was bugging him. His dad's birthday party was only a few days away. He hoped he wouldn't regret letting Cynthia talk him into going. Greg think - not enough information - that he should stay with piano - that guitar is cool - that he will like Dad's party
that guitar is cool
------
"Congratulations, jackass, you just got us sued." My editor, Sharon, was standing in front of my desk. She was apparently not happy. I shrugged, slouching further down in my chair, trying to hide from her gigantic crazy eyes behind my computer. It was a white laptop with a sticker that said "This Machine Kills Yuppies" slapped over the corporate logo on back. She reached out with one of her freakish man-hands and slammed the screen shut. "Let me try this again. You just got us sued six times over." Sharon Sinclair was a six-foot-tall beast of a woman with a huge mane of wiry black and gray hair pulled back in a pony tail. I had every confidence that she could tear me in two and use my bloody carcass in some kinky hedonistic lesbian cult ritual or something. So I usually tried to choose my words with the appropriate care around her. "Jesus-fucking-Christ, I haven't even had my morning coffee yet, and my head's still reeling from the Louisville Slugger that pummeled it last night. So I really don't feel like dealing with whatever annoying hormonal episode you have going on here." She glared at me silently, watching me squirm a little before asking, "Are you done?" "Probably." "Good," she said with a suppressed grin as she took a seat next to me. "Because I just let you publicly accuse the mayor and the valley's most powerful corporations of conspiring to defraud the taxpayers. So what's your plan for keeping my ass off the firing line?" I tilted back in my chair and met Sharon's gaze. "Look, we knew we'd get a strong reaction. Let them sue. We have e-mails to back us up." "These legal briefings say your e-mails were forged," she responded, waving a thick stack of papers in my face. "Of course they're gonna say that. That's why I made sure to get corroboration. Abrasax confirmed that the e-mails between Dylan Maxwell and City Hall are legit. But you know all this, so I don't know why we're wasting time going over it again." What tone did the narrator use when responding to Sharon? - timid - not enough information - scared - brash

brash
------