Former Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell said Sunday that Democrats should run candidates who fit the values of the district they're running in for the 2018 midterm elections.

In an interview with New York AM 970 radio host John Catsimatidis, Rendell — the former governor of Pennsylvania — praised Democrat Connor Lamb for his upset win last week in a Pittsburgh-area congressional district. He called Lamb a "great candidate" who triumphed despite President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE having won the district in the 2016 presidential election.

"But having said that, our progressive wing has got to understand that the country is made up of many different districts. And each state has different values and different traditions. We’ve got to run candidates who fit the values of that district in that state," Rendell cautioned.

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Rendell, a known fiscal hawk wary of deficit spending, said the party's progressive wing may have to settle for candidates that are less progressive than they would like in some districts.

House Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE said that Lamb ran as a "conservative," but has tried to assure majority members that the Democrat's victory in a red district was an anomaly.

"If we get back the Senate and the House... we will control the legislative agenda," Rendell added. "There won’t be any more BS reports coming out of these committees because we’ll have the majority," he said— an apparent reference to controversial memos by House Republicans alleging partisan bias against the presidency in the justice system.

While Lamb is set to re-run for the seat in midterms in a new, recently redrawn congressional district, the Cook Political Report recently shifted three notable GOP-held districts from "lean Republican" to "toss-up," including Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick Brian K. FitzpatrickFlorida Democrat introduces bill to recognize Puerto Rico statehood referendum DCCC reserves new ad buys in competitive districts, adds new members to 'Red to Blue' program 2020 Global Tiger Day comes with good news, but Congress still has work to do MORE (Pa.).