It's not surprising that Pennsylvania's 17th is seeing a flood of cash, thanks to a realignment of a congressional districts that landed two incumbents in a race for the same seat.
This recently redrawn suburban Pittsburgh district pits Democrat Rep. Conor Lamb – who won his seat in another district in a special election last spring. Lamb is running against another incumbent, Republican Keith Rothfus, who currently represents the old Pennsylvania 12th district, which overlaps heavily with the new 17th. The maps were redrawn after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in January that the old districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered in Republicans' favor.
The race in the new 17th has touched off a campaign finance slugfest between the major party finance arms, the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee (DCCC) and the National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC).
Lamb became a familiar name in Pennsylvania after a narrow win in a widely watched in March special election for Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. That seat had been held by a Republican for over a decade, and President Donald Trump won the district by 20 points. Political pundits have given Democrats a slight edge.