The special election in GA-06

by | Apr 18, 2017 | Editor's Blog, Politics | 4 comments

The political world’s attention is focused on the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. In the race to replace Republican Rep. Tom Price, who Trump named Secretary of Health and Human Services, Democrat Jon Ossoff is getting all of the attention. The 30-year-old first time candidate is running in a field of 18. He needs to get 50% today to avoid a runoff in June.

The district has voted solidly Republican for decades, though Trump won it by less than two points. It’s the type of district that Democrats hope can take them back to the majority. It’s a suburban district with high incomes and educated voters. It’s not the type of place enamored with Trump or the GOP’s social conservative agenda.

Democrats have poured resources into the district and Ossoff has raised more than $8 million, much of it online from donors across the country. The excitement around the race exemplifies Democrats’ motivation right now. A win would boost morale and put serious fear into Republicans representing even safe districts.

That said, winning a majority in a field of 18 is tough. The race is more likely to go to a runoff. It will be interesting to see how Democrats do head-to-head in a district that Republicans have won by double digits in every election since 2000. Dems may have overplayed the expectations game. Republicans will try to spin a runoff as a win.

Tonight’s race is far different than last week’s Kansas special election. In that race, the Democrat came up short by seven points in a district Trump won by 27 points. National Democrats have been criticized for not putting resources into the race. However, it didn’t look competitive until the end. Republicans made a relatively small investment in the final week. If Democrats had decided to spend big, the GOP would have dumped boatloads to save it. The DCCC probably should have done a little more just to show support for a hardworking candidate but a seven-point margin is substantial and there’s not much they could have done to change the outcome.

The race in Georgia, in contrast, has both sides fully engaged. The district is far better than the one in Kansas for Democrats and is exactly the type of district they’ll need to win to flip the House in 2018. Still, the next midterm is a long way away and tonight’s outcome may turn out to be a moment in time, not a sign of anything more.

 

 

4 Comments

  1. Thomas Hill

    Thomas, Seven points in Kansas is not to be sneezed at. If the Democratic party hopes to regain Congress, they must invest in advance (2 years or more prior to the general election) in candidates who have promise, rather than backing fair-haired favorites like Hillary and Stephen Colbert’s sister in a SC Cong race. See, http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/43085-focus-the-democratic-party-is-undermining-bernie-sanders-style-candidates, The article is right on, and shows that the national party wouldn’t invest a dime in Thompson’s race. He asked the state party for $20,000, and they finally coughed up $3,000 from an on-hand fund of $145,000.

    We need a new party structure which strives to appeal to young people and working adults, rather than being Republican-lite, i.e., in bed with corporations, banks, and other money powers.

    BTW, how much money did the national and state party organizations invest in your recent campaign? I rest my case.

  2. Rick gunter

    I am pulling for Ossoff to win outright today in Georgia’s Sixth District. I don’t count on it, but I am rooting for him to put the fear of God in the hearts of national Republicans, who continue to push an agenda that is far out of the mainstream of most Americans. A win today or in a runoff by Democrat Jon Ossoff would inspire potential congressional Democratic candidates to challenge Republican candidates in so-called safe districts. Many of those districts will be less safe for Republicans the longer the national meltdown under Trump unfolds. I still maintain that our country is in a national emergency because of Trump and his alt-right party. Kansas represented a start. Georgia could move the ball forward for the Democrats. Fingers crossed.

    • Norma Munn

      Agreed. I will count a strong run off (which I consider inevitable) as a win, although it would certainly be a joyous occasion should he win.

    • Jay Ligon

      Narrow losses and almost-upsets will not save the country. Energized Democrats and concerned Americans must get out of their Laz-i-Boys and head for the polls. Close does not count.

      Republicans cannot be trusted with the national interest. They have betrayed working people, families and the next generation. They are fine with a lying, cheating, traitorous sexual predator who is in business with gangsters across the globe.

      Our nation is in jeopardy, and the stakes have never been higher: Our water, our air, our children, our jobs, our reputation and our relations with our allies and friends.

      The orange huckster who lies with every breath he takes is sending our boys and girls into harm’s way as he eats his fabulous chocolate cake and sends us the bill.

      God help us. We need real Americans, not oligarchs, in the government.

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