Send in the clowns:
Vice President Mike Pence has plans to stump for Karen Handel’s campaign for Georgia’s 6th District on June 9, which would make him the latest high-profile Republican to trek to suburban Atlanta in the nationally watched race.
The details for Pence’s visit have yet to be finalized, according to people with knowledge of the plans, though it would come as little surprise. Handel has said she is an “all hands on deck” mode ahead of her June 20 runoff against Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Handel has already landed visits from President Donald Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan to help her campaign, which has raised more than $2 million since her second-place finish in the April 18 vote. Over the weekend, U.S. Reps. Will Hurd and Brian Mast also stumped with Handel.
The fact that they have to send Pence to save one of their own proves the GOP is running scared and they should be. I’m sure they saw the latest polling:
A new poll in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race shows Democrat Jon Ossoff opening a lead over Republican Karen Handel a month before the election. The poll, conducted by SurveyUSA on the behalf of Atlanta TV station WXIA, shows Ossoff in the front 51 percent to 44 percent, the largest projected lead in the race thus far.
The results show that President Donald Trump's recent controversies, including the James Comey firing and the revelations around former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, may be souring voters on Republicans, the survey posits. The 6th District race is being closely watched by Washington and much of the nation as many see it as a referendum of Trump.
The poll comes as Handel seeks to stack the deck with high-profile GOP support. Vice President Mike Pence is coming to Atlanta on June 9 to stump for her. The visit follows one by Speaker Paul Ryan on May 15 and Trump on April 28.
And of course this makes Handel’s blood boil:
At least 5,500 additional voters will be able to cast their ballots in a closely-watched congressional special election runoff in Georgia next month after a federal judge ordered the state to extend its voter registration deadline, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
The race between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel has drawn national attention because of a swell of unexpected support for Ossoff. Republicans have long held the seat in Congress that the two are vying for.
Ossoff and Handel were the top two finishers in an April 18 special election. Neither candidate got 50 percent of the vote, so both advanced to a June 20 runoff. Federal law sets 30 days before an election as the earliest a state can cut off voter registration. Georgia had complied with that requirement ahead of the April special election, but said that anyone who had not registered by March 20 also could not vote in June. Civil rights and engagement groups sued the state over that requirement, and a federal judge ordered Georgia to extend the registration deadline until May 21.
And after running away from the debates, Handel is now forced to debate Ossoff:
Channel 2 will be hosting a live prime-time debate involving the high-profile race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
The Republican candidate, Karen Handel, and Democratic candidate, Jon Ossoff, have agreed to participate in the debate.
Channel 2's Justin Farmer will be the debate moderator. The panel will include Greg Bluestein, Richard Elliot and Condace Pressley.
The debate will take place Tuesday, June 6, from 8 to 9 p.m.
Let’s help Ossoff go into the June 6th debate with a nice boost. Click here to donate and get involved with Ossoff’s campaign.