A key special election in Georgia’s 6th District is right around the corner. No, you haven’t clicked on a post from five months ago or fallen into some wormhole that’s thrown you back in time. Georgia’s 6th state Senate District is open because its GOP occupant, Hunter Hill, recently resigned to run for governor, and a special election to replace him will happen on Nov. 7.
It so happens that Senate District 6 is in the same region of the state—Metro Atlanta—as the congressional district with the same number, but it’s much bluer territory: The Senate seat went for Hillary Clinton by a 55-40 margin (making it the bluest GOP-held seat in the state) and gave Hill just 52 percent of the vote last fall. Democrats not only have a real chance to flip this district, but if they win, they’d also break the GOP’s veto-proof supermajority in the Senate.
What’s more, the GOP field in the special election is badly fracturted, featuring no fewer than five candidates. And Democrats had been excited that the guy who’d held Hill to that tight 4-point margin in 2016, Jaha Howard, was back for a return engagement. But it turns out that Howard isn’t the “moderate” he’d portrayed himself as in his previous campaign—not by a long shot.
Earlier this month, a long and disturbing series of anti-LGBT and misogynistic social media posts by Howard came to light. A few of the most hideous entries:
The Georgia Voice has more, but you get the idea.
Howard belatedly apologized for the posts, which he’s since deleted, but these misogynistic and homophobic rantings are simply unacceptable for any elected official—especially a Democrat. They also make Howard damaged goods in a swing seat like this one.
Thankfully, Democrats in Senate District 6 have much better option. Jen Jordan is an attorney who earned some major notice in progressive circles when she sued Republican secretary of state Brian Kemp (who’s also running for governor) over a massive data breach that resulted in the exposure of personal data on over six million voters in 2015. And in the wake of the disturbing revelations about Howard, local Democrats and progressive organizations have been rallying around Jordan as the right choice for the district—including that guy from the other Georgia 6th, Jon Ossoff.
But Howard still has name recognition thanks to his prior bid, and with just two weeks until Election Day, Democrats can’t take for granted that his campaign has suffered a fatal blow. In addition, there will be a runoff between the top two vote-getters (regardless of party) on Dec. 5 in the likely event that no one clears 50 percent on Nov. 7. Democrats therefore need to ensure not only that Jordan makes it to the runoff, but that she also wins it to flip this district and leave it in good hands.