This is Curtis and Valerie and we are calling from PA District 18 where we are on our way to cast our votes in one very

Special election this podcast was recorded at

136 p.m. On Monday the 12th of March things may have changed by the time you hear this keep up with all of NPR's political coverage on

NPR.org or the NPR one app and on your local public radio station all right here's the show

Hey there. It's the NPR politics podcast. There is a special election in Pennsylvania tomorrow to fill a house seat

vacated last fall by a long time Republican Congressman

It's a deeply Republican district where President Trump won by 20 points in 2016

But the polls show an incredibly tight race. I'm Tamer Keith. I cover the White House for NPR

I'm Scott Detreau. I cover Congress and I'm Dominican Montanero political editor

So Scott last time we talked to you you were in California now

You were in Pittsburgh. I've traded sunny San Diego for hilly Pittsburgh and you know happy to be here too and you are

Camping out there until the votes are counted. Mm-hmm

There are a few things that are special about tomorrow's special election in southwestern Pennsylvania

For one, this is a district as you said just outside of Pittsburgh that should be a safe Republican seat and yet

It does not look at this moment like an extremely safe Republican seat and to this district will not even exist

By the end of this year because of redistricting in Pennsylvania and yet both Republicans and Democrats

Are spending so much money to win this seat. So Scott why?

Yeah, so let's start with the fact that this should not be this close

This district opened up back in the fall when Republican

Tim Murphy had to resign because of a scandal Murphy a long time

Anti-abortion advocate text messages emerged where he was encouraging someone he was having an affair with to go get an abortion

Very quickly resigned in the wake of those texts becoming public and I remember writing in the story about his resignation

...