Karen Handel has gone a long way toward consolidating the Republican vote in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, a new poll shows, taking her up to 47 percent. But Jon Ossoff still leads by a point, holding his 48 percent from the primary election, with a crucial five percent of voters undecided. The poll, by respected Democratic internal pollster Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, highlights Ossoff’s success at widening the voter universe:
Part of Ossoff’s success in earning 48% in the April special election was his ability to drive turnout among voters who do not typically vote in special elections or midterms. According to voter file results, 25% of all voters who participated in the April special election voted in 2016, but had not voted in 2014. In the current polling of run-off voters, Ossoff holds a 12-point lead over Handel among these voters.
That ability is why Ossoff is in the race at all, let alone holding on to even a one-point lead, in this heavily Republican district. And it’s thanks to Donald Trump’s mobilizing effect, but also to Ossoff’s powerful ground game, which he continues to build.
The battle for the undecided five percent of voters will be fierce, and Atlanta-area viewers will be seeing a volume of political advertising usually reserved for swing states in presidential years. Ossoff’s campaign has reserved $5.2 million in airtime, but he’s battling millions of dollars in outside spending by Republican groups.
Can you chip in $3 to help Jon Ossoff overcome the Republican attack ad avalanche?