If you had told Democrats three months ago that first-time candidate Jon Ossoff would have taken 48 percent of the vote to advance to the GA-06 runoff against GOP former Secretary of State Karen Handel (20 percent), they would have been ecstatic. Now, after all the celebrity tweets, over $10 million raised and more hype than any House race has ever generated, Ossoff's failure to hit 50 percent has President Trump and the GOP crowing. Let's take a step back and put things in perspective. If Democrats are to win the House next November, they absolutely need to win seats like GA-06 — suburbs Trump won narrowly (in this case by one point) that are trending towards Democrats. But 1) one race is not make or break 2) this race is not over and 2) even if Democrats strike out in all three of the KS-04, MT-AL and GA-06 special elections, all three outcomes could still bode poorly for Republicans. Last night, Ossoff and four other Democrats combined for 48.9 percent and 11 Republicans combined for 51 percent. The good

More from the Cook Political Report

First Person
Cook Politcal Logo
Free
2024 Swing State Project
Cook Politcal Logo