Polls close tonight at 7 PM ET in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, where a special election is being held to replace former Republican Rep. Tom Price, who resigned to join Donald Trump’s cabinet. All the candidates compete on one ballot. If one candidate wins a majority of the vote, he or she wins the seat outright; otherwise, the two contenders with the most votes—regardless of party—will advance to a June 20 runoff.
There isn’t much doubt that Democrat Jon Ossoff will take first place, but Democrats hope that he’ll win outright. Several Republicans are competing for the second-place spot, with polls showing ex-Secretary of State Karen Handel and wealthy businessman Bob Gray locked in a close contest, while former state Sens. Judson Hill and Dan Moody are also in contention. Mitt Romney won this suburban Atlanta seat 61-37 in 2012, but it swung sharply against Trump, who carried it by just 48-47.
Results: State | AP (districtwide, by county)
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2017 · 2:03:35 AM +00:00
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Steve Singiser
It’s worth considering what still is outlying. Right now, the ballgame is in Fulton County. All but a handful of the outstanding precincts are located there. However, there is one potential wildcard: The DeKalb County website shows that no mail-in votes have been tallied there, as of yet. Could that be another potential boost for Ossoff?
He needs it to avoid a runoff, in all probability.
Wednesday, Apr 19, 2017 · 2:07:29 AM +00:00
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Steve Singiser
And...right on cue...DeKalb drops both its VBM votes and its final two precincts. The good news? Ossoff crushed in the VBM, taking just over 80 percent. The bad news? It was only a total of 2200 votes. But that does get Ossoff a bit more comfortably north of 50 percent.
However, it also means that his best turf is now in the books. He’s going to need something in Fulton that no one is expecting, or he’s likely to fall just short of 50 percent.