Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff

Wouldn’t you know Pennsylvania’s special election in the 18th Congressional District was so close no official winner was declared Tuesday night. Newcomer Democrat Conor Lamb declared himself the winner, but there’s no winner until all the votes are counted including absentee ballots and the election is certified.

No doubt Lamb’s slim win by less than 700 votes – if it holds — should be a wake-up call for Republicans who should have easily won this race with state Rep. Rick Saccone, but they did not. President Donald Trump won this district by 20-points in 2016 over Hillary Clinton. A Republican has held this seat for the past 15 years. In total more than 250,000 votes were cast – a recount is in the cards.

Of course the Democrats are claiming this is just the beginning of a coming ‘Blue Wave’ for the November mid-term elections to regain control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

“The momentum is undeniable for Democratic candidates running up and down the ballot,” said Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Perez declared Lamb the winner even before the Democratic candidate did.

Political commentators are claiming Lamb ran his campaign more like a Republican than an establishment Democrat. He’s pro-union, personally pro-life and pro-gun. He openly criticized U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi during the campaign while he claimed he would work with Republicans on some issues. He supports President Trump’s recent tariffs placed upon steel and aluminum imports.

Lamb, 33, is not like those off-the-wall-far-left-wing-nut Democrats like Pelosi, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or California Reps. Maxine Waters and Adam Schiff. Far from it. He is a former prosecuting attorney for the U.S. Marines. He comes from a political family with deep ties in Pennsylvania. He is an attractive candidate and let’s hope he wins — not that Saccone, 60, is a bad candidate – he has his own set of qualifying virtues as well.

But it’s far beyond time for the Democrats to reject this crazy liberal agenda they have, regain their common senses and move more to the center if they have any hopes of regaining the House and Senate on November 6. It’s time for Democrats to stop supporting such nonsense as ‘sanctuary cities’ and opening defying federal immigration laws.

If Lamb is successful in his first bid for public office his win should be studied by all the other Democrats – incumbents and newcomers — running for office this year, and by Republicans as well. Lamb should have lost this race hands down, but he didn’t. There’s a lot to be learned here by everyone in politics — especially those arm-chair, sit-at-home-know-it-all arrogant Democrats — that believe our president should be removed from office by whatever means possible. Keeping those kinds of arguments alive will hurt the Democrats come November.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, this election will be challenged, all voting machines will be impounded, a recount will be requested and it may be two weeks before these election results are certified. Pennsylvania has no automatic recount law in close congressional district races.

More candidates like Lamb need to come forward with common sense and courage to help steer the nation further into prosperity and help our president succeed in an uncertain world.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday high school students across the nation walked out of classes in protest of the nation’s gun laws further focusing the issue following the Valentine’s Day massacre at Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, leaving 14 students and three others dead. Here’s another issue where common sense is hard to find. These students are right to get out there and be heard, even though these protests are organized and funded by liberal political groups seeking to defame the National Rifle Association and reduce their effect on future gun legislation in Congress.

The students are being used by the liberal left, but still it’s good to see them participate in the political process because one of these days soon they will all be voting age and their experiences of today will set the tone for their future. But the sad reality is more mass shootings will occur at schools and just about anywhere people congregate in large groups. It’s the mass shootings that get all the attention – not the daily death toll from guns.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last week that armed police will no longer be allowed in public schools in the Big Apple. This decision defies rational explanation as other school systems across the nation are moving forward with arming teachers and bringing in more armed police officers to protect the nation’s children at school.

Gun control is one of those issues that never seems to make any meaningful headway – background checks, waiting periods, age limits, bump stocks, assault rifles, mental health — and voters see the endless delays and debate as gunfire continues across America every single day.

Living in Costa Rica and watching Miami TV news every morning — it’s the same thing – two shot dead on the north side, road-rage shooting on I-95, mother shot on porch, toddler killed in drive-by shooting, nightclub shooting claims three, police officer shot dead in squad car — and on and on. It’s the same thing in Baltimore, Chicago or Los Angeles and small towns, too, and yet Washington sits and twiddles its thumbs.

About the Author Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.

Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.