Sacrificial lambs that ended up winning the election

[Bismarck]

I could be wrong on this, but up until a month or so before the election wasn't Rod Blum- R- IA-01 just a sacrificial lamb candidate?

[Mr. Smith]

Frank Moss in Utah...only got in because of a Conservative split.

[The Arizonan]

I could be wrong on this, but up until a month or so before the election wasn't Rod Blum- R- IA-01 just a sacrificial lamb candidate?

2014 was a Republican wave election, so I'd say no. Iowa is a weird state politically.

[hopper]

I could be wrong on this, but up until a month or so before the election wasn't Rod Blum- R- IA-01 just a sacrificial lamb candidate?

Well Jim Nussle(R) was the Congressmen for that district for awhile both went it was numbered the 2nd in the 90's and the 1st Congressional District from 2003-2006 before Bruce Braley(D) took the seat. Braley only won by 1% point(49-48%) in the Republican Wave Year of 2010. The 2000's redistricting added alot of the Quad Cities according to Wikipedia which made the district more Dem than it was in the 90's.

[Bojack Horseman]

Another good one is Charles Djou in Hawaii.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Harris Wofford

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I literally thought JBE when I saw this.  Surprised he hasn't been mentioned more.

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

I literally thought JBE when I saw this.  Surprised he hasn't been mentioned more.

Personally, I always thought he had a chance, and I'm not sure how a Edwards vs. Angelle race would have gone.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Bill Johnson in CD-6 was considered a sacrificial lamb even the day before the election, IIRC.

[JMT]

I don't think I've seen this one yet: Bob Turner for the NY-09 special election in 2011. This was Anthony Weiner's district, and Turner was the Republican candidate in the heavily Democratic district. A year before this, he lost to Weiner by 20 points, and then won the special election following Weiner's resignation. I'd say he could be considered a sacrificial lamb, at the beginning it was widely expected Dems would win.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Well Doug Jones is on the list now.

[PAK Man]

Joni Ernst comes to mind, she really shouldn't have won Iowa at all...Anyone besides Bruce Failey would've won that one easily...who to be fair also seemed to get tossed out pretty quickly.

The more I think about this race, the more coordinated I think it was. That audio of him making those comments about Grassley had been known for awhile, but they were holding onto it for just the right moment. And right when Ernst released her ad about her castrating pigs, that audio leaked. Ernst was a nobody, but she easily won the primary after that ad was released. She was definitely not a sacrificial lamb. Had Sam Clovis won that race, then, yes, that would have been a sacrificial lamb. But that whole campaign was coordinated.

[Bidenworth2020]

Blake Farenthold (R-TX). He was basically a trust fund baby who self-funded his 2010 campaign because the state/national party didn't seriously contest the district.

And since he won in a redistricting year, the state legislature promptly reconfigured his district into a safe R seat and he's not going anywhere unless he gets primaried for some reason.

or because... you  know