The special election to fill the GOP-leaning Georgia congressional seat vacated by now-Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price is heating up. Boy is it heating up!
Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff is leading the 18-person field with 40 percent support, according to a FOX 5/Opinion Savvy poll. He and whatever Republican comes out ahead will face off in a runoff election that is rather tight according to the poll. There are a number of good solid reporting on this race.
It most likely will go to a June 20 runoff if no one gets more than 50% of the vote on April 18. Ossoff’s ads have directly targeted Trump. “Donald Trump doesn’t represent our values,” Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) says to the camera in one of these ads. “That’s why I’m supporting Jon Ossoff.” In another ad, Ossoff says, “When President Trump embarrasses our country or acts recklessly, I’ll hold him accountable.” Republicans first targeted Ossoff by resurfacing video of him drinking and acting out as Han Solo during his college days.
Well Dems have a video of Trump saying he likes to grab (you know what.)
Nate Cohn: “Start with the money. Mr. Ossoff, a 30-year-old first-time candidate, has benefited from timing. He was basically the only Democrat seeking federal office at a moment when Democratic energy was surging and when progressives were looking to ‘do something.’”
“Mr. Ossoff probably would not have raised nearly as much money if he’d been competing for attention with 434 other races. His fund-raising tally is better than that of 96 percent of the congressional challengers who raised more than $100,000 in 2016, and there’s still time for him to move up the list.”
“Instead, it’s the Republicans who are struggling to coalesce. They have 11 candidates on the ballot, with none emerging as the obvious favorite, although former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, the businessman Bob Gray and state senator Judson Hill are considered among the strongest contenders. Whoever advances to a runoff (assuming anyone does) will have only two months to coalesce support and raise funds with the benefit of party unity.”
First Read: “It most likely will go to a June 20 runoff if no one gets more than 50% of the vote on April 18, but there is a chance that Ossoff… could get close to that percentage.”
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