• Georgia 6th: Ossoff (D) gets majority of votes, forces runoff
    15 replies, posted
[QUOTE][B]Democrat Jon Ossoff will compete in a runoff in a traditionally Republican congressional district in suburban Atlanta, after falling just short of the majority threshold needed to win outright in a special election on Tuesday.[/B] With 88% of precincts reporting, the 30-year-old had 48.3% of the vote. He willl face Republican opponent Karen Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, on 20 June, after Handel finished second in a chaotic 18-candidate field.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE][URL="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/854547423464759296"]In a midnight tweet[/URL], Donald Trump took a victory lap for Ossoff’s expected failure to win a majority of the vote. “Despite major outside money, FAKE media support and eleven Republican candidates, BIG “R” win with runoff in Georgia. Glad to be of help!” The campaign had attracted late attention from Trump, who tweeted six times about it in the 48 hours before polls closed, an unprecedented level of activity in a down-ballot race. The special election became a locus of national attention, and brought the type of politics more associated with swing states to leafy Atlanta suburbs filled with office parks and corporate headquarters. While Ossoff’s hefty fundraising of over $8 million guaranteed a media frenzy alone, it was followed with extensive advertising by Republicans urging their voters to support any candidate but Ossoff as well as the self-funded Republican Dan Moody, who saturated the area with a television spot featuring him cleaning up elephant manure.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]In interviews with voters, Ossoff supporters invariably cited Trump in describing why they support the Democrat. In contrast, those supporting Republican candidate were far more focused on local issues and the fine gradations between leading contenders in a crowded Republican field. Eleven different Republicans ran in a reliably red district that has been the bedrock of the Georgia Republican party for more than a generation. Represented by Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House, it went on to elect Price who regularly won by landslide margins against nominal opposition. However, Clinton won 46.8% of the vote there, raising hopes for Democrats who saw it a potential gain due to Trump’s unpopularity there.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE]At a local level, a runoff will also present a study in contrasts between Handel and Ossoff. Handel is a veteran politician, known for her trademark pearl necklaces, who served one term as Georgia secretary of state before resigning to run for governor in 2010. Handel narrowly lost the Republican primary for that office by 2,500 votes to current incumbent Nathan Deal and also lost a 2014 primary for US Senate. She also became a lightning rod for national controversy when she was forced to step down from a senior role at charity devoted to fighting breast cancer in 2012 after pushing it to defund Planned Parenthood.[/QUOTE] [URL="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/18/georgia-special-election-jon-ossoff-republican-seat-congress"]https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/18/georgia-special-election-jon-ossoff-republican-seat-congress[/URL]
handel is a bad candidate from what ive read though, not very popular in the district, if it wasn't for the last minute republican action they probably wouldn't have seen such a large swell
I like how Trump was like "Hey thank me guys for the help I gave you" when he probably had the opposite impact on this election.
[QUOTE=purvisdavid1;52125065]I like how Trump was like "Hey thank me guys for the help I gave you" when he probably had the opposite impact on this election.[/QUOTE] Considering Trump is incapable of admitting any mistakes he makes, it's not surprising.
[QUOTE=purvisdavid1;52125065]I like how Trump was like "Hey thank me guys for the help I gave you" when he probably had the opposite impact on this election.[/QUOTE] All the trump supporting candidates did terribly so probably, Handel better hope that he doesn't try to pledge his support. This result must be terrifying for the GOP, they're well on the way to losing the mid-terms completely and they're having to pledge a lot of money to seats that are supposed to be safe. Even if Ossoff doesn't win the run-off that swing is insane.
It would help if the Republican party didn't risk vote splitting. the first quote even mentions that they had an 18 candidate field. Since there is a runoff coming soon, I would assume it's just going to be a one on one election this time. In witch case, I would assume Handel would have a better chance of winning.
I hope the midterm election teaches the Republicans that there's no such thing as a "safe" seat, even with gerrymandering, if you are representing the worst President ever.
[QUOTE=Glaber;52125412]It would help if the Republican party didn't risk vote splitting. the first quote even mentions that they had an 18 candidate field. Since there is a runoff coming soon, I would assume it's just going to be a one on one election this time. In witch case, I would assume Handel would have a better chance of winning.[/QUOTE] Ossoff got such a high share that the highest GOP candidates combined can't match him. The vote split doesn't really matter now, because nobody expected Ossoff to hit 50% anyway. What does matter is the split for the republicans. Handel needs the votes that went to the other candidates now, and she doesn't exactly have a winning record. It's entirely possible that they won't vote for her (and yes, republicans are better at turnout.) This seat is firmly in toss-up territory. If Ossoff manages to maintain his base, or even exceed it, they'll have to try hard to keep the seat.
did Trump seriously call a democrat winning 48% of the vote and various other Republicans (none higher than 30%) winning most of the rest a BIG R Republican victory? He should probably call the 2016 election a BIG D Democrat victory then, pfft
[QUOTE=cis.joshb;52125642]did Trump seriously call a democrat winning 48% of the vote and various other Republicans (none higher than 30%) winning most of the rest a BIG R Republican victory? He should probably call the 2016 election a BIG D Democrat victory then, pfft[/QUOTE] This country sure is getting the big d after that election tho
[QUOTE=cis.joshb;52125642]did Trump seriously call a democrat winning 48% of the vote and various other Republicans (none higher than 30%) winning most of the rest a BIG R Republican victory? He should probably call the 2016 election a BIG D Democrat victory then, pfft[/QUOTE] They consider it a win because it forces a 1 on 1 election now despite the Dems pumping millions into their candidate to avoid the 1 on 1.
Remember this is just the primaries, he's not going to win the actual election.
[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;52125711]Remember this is just the primaries, he's not going to win the actual election.[/QUOTE] if you add up all the R votes it was like 52-48. but that's better than the ??-38 the last democrat got in this seat.
[QUOTE=Daniel Smith;52125711]Remember this is just the primaries, he's not going to win the actual election.[/QUOTE] You can't really say that with certainty. A seat with such a small margin is extremely competitive, this could easily go either way.
The pendulum swings the other way (maybe)
One of the pastors at a fairly large church in the 6th spent a solid 10 mins last weekend railing against handed and ossolf. Since he had been vocal anti handel for the past month I don't know how he is going to reconcile with the congregation her being the new candidate of choice.
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