How about some good news?
Voter registration shut down March 20 ahead of the deciding runoff June 20 for the 6th District election, which is being held in the northern suburbs of metro Atlanta.
Batten, however, ordered registration immediately re-opened until May 21.
Georgia Republicans had to resort to voter suppression tactics because they know that a good chunk of their voters are leaning towards voting for Jon Ossoff (D. GA-06):
Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff has drawn notice for the legions of Democrats volunteering, donating and voting at unusually high rates to support his campaign. But Ossoff has also quietly attracted a small but potentially pivotal share of Republican support in his special election race, according to a new analysis of the April 18 primary — one major reason why the two-month runoff for Tom Price’s old district is expected to be so close and hard-fought.
The voter-file analysis of the special primary was conducted by Optimus Consulting, a Republican data-analytics firm that has been observing the Georgia race. The voter file allows Optimus and others to dig for details about who exactly turned out for the first round of the special election, and how they likely voted.
And the firm’s most conservative estimates say Ossoff captured at least 8 to 10 percent of the GOP’s votes in the primary, a critical slice given that Republicans comprised only a narrow majority of the electorate. While Ossoff’s campaign and motivated Democrats helped drive unusually high levels of voting in the primary, it’s clear that more than turnout propelled Ossoff’s campaign into his one-on-one runoff match-up with Republican Karen Handel in a longtime GOP district.
“Based on the final results of the jungle primary, most independents and a small but relatively sizable portion of Republicans voted for Jon Ossoff,” said Alex Alduncin, an analyst with Optimus.
Ossoff’s campaign is well aware of this and that’s why he’s even reaching out to those voters:
Jon Ossoff’s campaign on Thursday announced a television ad about cutting wasteful government spending in an apparent bid for independent and Republican voters in Georgia’s Sixth District, where Ossoff is competing against Republican Karen Handel for a U.S. House seat.
In the 30-second spot, titled “Table,” Ossoff says that “both parties in Congress waste a lot of your money” and pledges to cute wasteful spending, reduce the deficit and bring jobs to Georgia.
The ad is already running in the Atlanta market, but it’s not clear how long the ad will run and Ossoff’s campaign would not confirm the size of the ad buy to TPM. The campaign has set aside at least $5.2 million for ads through the June 20 runoff election, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The spot, along with a press conference Wednesday laying out Ossoff’s plan to reduce wasteful spending, appears to be a pitch to a broad swath of voters in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District, including independents and Republicans.
And the DCCC are doubling down their efforts:
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced $1 million in TV and digital spending Wednesday to attack GOP nominee Karen Handel in Georgia’s 6th District.
The Democratic campaign arm is attacking Handel as “another self-serving politician” in the TV ad, which is running on Atlanta broadcast and cable. The spot alleges that as Georgia secretary of state Handel increased her office’s spending and used taxpayer dollars to pay for a “luxury SUV” and foreign travel.
A series of short digital ads underscore a similar message. The ads are part of Democrats’ efforts to paint Handel as a “career politician” who’s run twice for statewide office and lost.
Let’s keep up the momentum and win this race. Click here to donate and get involved with Ossoff’s campaign.