What It Takes: Lessons from a Recent Special Election Victory

As politicos across America hunker down and attempt to analyze polls to predict November’s midterms, no numbers prove more grounded than actual election results. Aside from a difficult municipal/judicial election in 2025, special elections across America continue to encroach on the public conscience in different pockets. Typically, these elections usually swing against the party in the White House – this time being Republican Donald Trump. Solid red districts in blood-red states have shown versatility in their specials, with some going as far as abject failure for Republicans.

An Iowa state Senate district, a state that Trump won by over 13 points in 2024 (and also won convincingly in 2016 and 2020), and a district that he won by 21 points in 2024 saw a Democrat win by nearly 5%. In Texas, a 30+ point flip occurred when Democratic newcomer Taylor Rehmet bested a conservative activist, who far outspent him. And in Pennsylvania was the Lancaster state Senate race, in which Democrat James Malone narrowly flipped a seat held by Republicans since the 1800s. As a freshly christened Blair County GOP chair, I knew the party had the work cut out for it in the state’s 79th district special election.

The 79th state House district contains the City of Altoona, Logan Township, Allegheny Township, and the Blair County part of Tunnelhill borough. Since 2018, Altoona-native and local attorney Lou Schmitt represented the 79th district in Harrisburg. Despite his nearly decade-long tenure in the General Assembly, Republican Schmitt never faced more than token opposition from the Democrats; they only fielded a beleaguered challenger in 2020 when Schmitt still won with over 70.3% of the vote. In 2025, Rep. Schmitt successfully sought a position on the Blair County Court of Common Pleas, and in late December of that year, resigned to assume his new position. Per Pennsylvania law, this triggered a special election.

In January, the Blair County Republican Committee convened to nominate a contender for the March 17th special election. This truncated process resulted in Andrea Verobish receiving the committee’s nomination and appearing on the March ballot as the Republican nominee. Blair County Democrats held a similar process and nominated newcomer Caleb McCoy to represent their platform for the special election.

As the race shaped itself, my instincts proved correct as Democrats smelled blood after Lancaster and decided to invest tens of thousands into the 79th district. Despite Republican leanings, PA House Democrats sent mailers, digital ads, texts, and other get out the vote (GOTV) efforts to maximize their turnout and initiate a flip. Pundits up to former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb made appearances, the former virtual and the latter in person, to influence voters in PA-79. Despite this, Republican Andrea Verobish prevailed by double-digits and will head to Harrisburg to represent the people of PA-79. Needless to say, I learned a lot from this election that Republicans everywhere must apply to future elections. Here are the most important lessons learned. 

Take Nothing for Granted

While this may sound cliché, the old adage proved true many times throughout the country – no seat is a safe seat for any party. Despite months of individuals saying that the Democrats would brush off this seat and possibly not even run a candidate, they recruited people from across the Commonwealth to volunteer their time, money, and efforts into this seat. Many members of the Committee understood the importance, both practically and symbolically, of defending this seat and supporting the party’s candidate. The operational infrastructure, which the GOP designed and then implemented, proved fruitful. A huge Democratic assault coupled with GOP volunteers blind-sided by it could have hindered the overall operation of the special election. All people must take every race, from borough council to the President, as if the opposition will sink whatever into jolting their turnout and flipping the seat. 

Grassroots Matter

Despite digital integration into every portion of our lives, people still appreciate a personal touch. Knocking doors, making phone calls, and writing postcards may prove costly in time and resources, but these basic campaign tenets still prove useful in helping sway voters. Grassroots prove especially critical in low-turnout elections like special elections, as these serve as a zeitgeist to amping up turnout. While every other aspect of the campaign contributes to the pillars of success, the canvassing matters now more than possibly ever in 2026. 

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work.

Nobody can accomplish anything without a great team. In the intensely passionate field of politics, allies too often find issues with nuance and shun potential benefactors of their own agendas for short-term spite. While disagreements naturally arose, nothing ever splintered the committee’s resolve. The GOP managed to focus on the mission above all else and unify when it mattered most.

Make the Message Simple and Sincere.

Candidates and supporters often entangle themselves in the nuance of political dialogue. While many times they believe this produces an intelligent look, it often leaves potential voters confused rather than impressed. Verobish expertly sliced the abundance of ambiguity out of her messaging to speak directly to voters. Low taxes, gun rights, the right to life, and protecting women’s sports all chronicled her campaign.

Candidate Quality

Candidates ultimately own their campaigns, and with that, produce the elements that make the ships sail or anchor the boat before takeover. State Rep.-elect Verobish never once discounted the work necessary to win. She developed a strong message that resonated with voters in the Altoona area and implemented the above-mentioned pillars to run a strong campaign. Given her professional background in the political sphere, she navigated difficult moments to ensure victory. 

I believe that every candidate and county chair across the nation should adopt the following work ethic and mindset to ensure clean wins. Despite campaign cash deficits, we held the line and ensured voter enthusiasm translated to votes for our candidate. Most importantly, the candidate showed up to perform the work necessary to win. While many aspects of campaigns may seem tedious, they can cement a victory or supply a loss.