Republican Fred Keller expected to win special legislative elections

The Pennsylvania state representative, Fred Keller, should easily beat Democrat Marc Friedenberg in Tuesday's special election to represent the 12th district of Keystone State in the House of Representatives.

With 48% of polling stations reported, Keller won 72% of the vote, compared with Friedenberg's 28%.

Keller would complete the two-year term started by Republican Tom Marino, who resigned in January, just three weeks after the start of his fifth term at the House. With the victory of Keller, the House has 235 Democrats and 198 Republicans. Two seats in North Carolina are vacant pending the outcome of the special election later this year.

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Tuesday's result is not surprising, as the 12th district is solidly Republican and voters backed Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election by a 2-to-1 margin over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Trump himself urged his supporters to support Keller at a protest Monday night in Montoursville, telling the legislator the fifth term: "We must win tomorrow, Fred." He endorsed Keller on Twitter earlier on Tuesday, calling the Republican "Fort Crime, Second Amendment, Military, Veterinary and Health Care", and saying that Keller had "my total and total support!"

Keller accepted Trump's support on Monday evening, offering enthusiastic support to the president and pledging to support his congressional policy, saying the district residents "have been behind you since the first day and, Mr. Speaker, our support for your Consideration is this: strong today as it has always been. "

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He also said: "In 2016, Pennsylvania placed Donald Trump at the top, and in 2020 we will do it again."

Friedenberg, an attorney and teacher of information technology at Penn State University, has stood against Marino in the midterm elections last year and lost 32 points.

Associated Press contributed to this report.