Voters in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District will have 18 candidates to choose from Tuesday when they decide who should fill the seat vacated by former Representative Tom Price, a Republican who was tapped to become President Trump’s health and human services secretary.
But none have earned more press, or raised more money, than Jon Ossoff, 30, a Democrat and documentary filmmaker who bills his campaign as a way to “Make Trump Furious.” Now, in one of the first political tests of the Trump presidency, the question is whether he can turn anti-Trump anger and energy into enough votes to send him to Congress from a wealthy suburban district that has not sent a Democrat to Washington in decades.
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If Mr. Ossoff doesn’t do well, many will recall that this district was not expected to be competitive when Mr. Price was nominated in November to be the new secretary of health and human services. There would be a fine argument that the district’s traditional Republican-lean was too strong for a liberal Democratic challenger to prevail, especially against a diverse Republican field.
If Mr. Ossoff does well, there will be an equally fine argument that a competitive race should have been expected given Mr. Trump’s performance in November, Mr. Ossoff’s huge fund-raising haul and the split Republican field. And Georgia’s sixth district isn’t just well educated: It’s the best-educated House district held by a Republican in the country. (Nearly 60 percent of the district’s voters have college degrees, which is almost twice the national average.) An anti-Trump rebellion here might not mean much elsewhere, given that he relied so much on voters without degrees.
The New York Times also warns to not get too excited too early in the evening, because early returns will probably be very favorable towards Ossof, who is expected to do well in absentee and early balloting. That aside, the battle lines are pretty well drawn. As The Hill astutely noted, this congressional seat is taking on meaning beyond that of one mere congressional seat. It is being taken as a referendum.
Tonight may the night that the lights go out in Georgia for Trump. But if not tonight, then one night soon, because the screws are turning inexorably on Trump. The Democrats didn't take Kansas -- but we made headway. If the Democrats don't take Georgia, the fight will still continue. When they go low, we now go and dig a trench and hold the line. That tactic is going to pay off, if not tonight in Georgia, then somewhere down the road. So tweet hyperbole and innuendo, Donald, and have your Rethugs steal the voting machines, the Democrats are still coming for you. I can feel the unity in the spirit of the Democratic party right now and I know that we're going to win the war -- I sure would like it if we win tonight's battle as well. Trump tweeted the words, "easy win." I would like to see him eat those words.