In what the media portrayed as a national “referendum” on Donald Trump, Democrats directed millions of dollars and truckloads of hype to fuel the campaign of 30-year-old Jon Ossoff to fill the vacated seat of Republican Tom Price, now serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Democrats needed Ossoff to win 50 percent of the vote against a divided Republican field in order to avoid a run-off election that would require him to face a Republican opponent head-to-head. But when the votes were tallied up Tuesday night, after all the hype and infusion of millions from out of state, Ossoff fell short, garnering just over 48 percent and thus triggering a run-off with Republican Karen Handel, Georgia’s Secretary of State.
Here are six things you need to know about the Georgia District 6 election.
1. The Deck Was Stacked Heavily In Ossoff’s Favor
The most glaring detail of the Georgia District 6 election was that there was only one viable Democratic candidate, Ossoff, while there were four competitive Republican candidates. A total of five Democrats had entered the race, compared to the crowded field of eleven Republicans. None of the other four Democrats earned more than 0.3 percent of the vote. Three of the Republicans earned more than 8 percent, while the winner, Handel, garnered nearly 20 percent. A few other Republicans picked off around 1 percent.
The other major advantage Ossoff had going into the election was all of the anti-Trump fervor that has exploded in the first few months of his presidency. With some signs that the “Trump hysteria,” which the Democratic Party has been fanning feverishly, is already cooling off a little, it will be interesting to see how long the party can keep its base enthused and engaged.
2. Democrats Invested Millions In Ossoff
The total money invested in Ossoff was at least $8.3 million. A report published a few days before the election claims that at about a week out from the election, Ossoff had already spent a stunning $5.3 million on TV, cable, and radio advertisements, dwarfing any of his opponents. Handel, for example, spent only around $100,000 on ads.
3. Around 95 Percent of Ossoff’s Donations Came From Out of State
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, around 95 percent of Ossoff’s donations came from outside of Georgia:
Ossoff’s financial disclosure, to be released Thursday, shows he has $2.1 million on hand for the final stretch of the campaign. His contributions came from across the nation, including more than $1 million raised by the liberal advocacy site the Daily Kos. Sure to raise eyebrows in Georgia, however, is the campaign’s revelation that 95 percent of all of Ossoff’s donors are from out of state.
4. Ossoff Spent $57 Per Vote
As the Daily Wire noted on Wednesday, Ossoff spent that $5.3+ million on ads to turn out a total of 92,390 votes. That means he spent a stunning $57.70 per vote in an effort that ultimately fell short. In retrospect, he could have saved a lot of that money for the true election, his dominant position among the Democratic field giving him an easy path to being the Democratic candidate.
5. Ossoff vs. Handel Should Be A Close Race
Ossoff clearly has a solid shot at winning the run-off election, but so does Handel, who, as Georgia’s Secretary of State, enjoys strong name recognition and a powerful political status in Georgia. With his millions in remaining funds, momentum and over 48 percent of the vote, Ossoff heads into the election as the likely frontrunner; however, as RealClearPolitics‘ Sean Trende puts it, “this isn’t a done deal for Ossoff, either”:
He’s had the advantage of multiple opponents beating each other up for the past few weeks, and Republican money got into the game reasonably late. He was hit by a late-breaking suggestion that he didn’t live in the district. A female Republican politician probably wasn’t his preferred choice for the runoff. But all told, this next stage is probably going to be harder for him, rather than easier.
6. Ossoff Believes He’s Already Won “A Victory For The Ages”
“Let me tell you this,” Ossoff told his supporters late Tuesday night. “There is no doubt that this is already a victory for the ages. That no matter what the outcome is tonight, whether we take it all, or whether we fight on, we have defied the odds, we have shattered expectations.”
While “victory for the ages” is the very definition of hyperbole, Republicans are, and should be, concerned that the Democrats could very well flip a district in which Price garnered 62 percent of the vote in 2016 and that Mitt Romney won by 23 points in 2012.