It’s a devastating psychological blow for a party to spend over $30 million on a House special election and still lose. For Democrats, Jon Ossoff’s defeat to Karen Handel stings, and the blame game is already raging: “Why did Ossoff run such a bland campaign? Why didn’t he take a […] Read more »
Georgia race provides a wake-up call for both Democrats and Republicans
For all the money spent and the endless pre-election analysis about the meaning of it all, the special congressional election in Georgia’s 6th District produced a status quo result. … The outcome has been described as a wake-up call for Democrats, which it should be. The road to a congressional […] Read more »
Where Can Democrats Win?
… For election forecasting purposes, the margins matter: that Ossoff and Parnell came fairly close to beating their opponents yields a different interpretation than if they’d been blown out. And South Carolina is an important data point, just as Georgia was, even if it received a fraction of as much […] Read more »
Dueling Realities for Democrats: Big Gains but Large Obstacles in 2018
The Democrats fared far better in this spring’s special congressional elections than even the most optimistic Democrat might have guessed a few months ago. But in the end, they lost all four in Republican-held districts — including the hotly contested election in Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District on Tuesday. This contradiction […] Read more »
Eleven Things I Think I Think After the Georgia and South Carolina Special Elections
One of the best parts about covering elections is that there is a final result. What seems like an endless stream of campaigning and ads and analysis finally comes to an end every time with vote tallies to digest until the next round. President Donald Trump and the Republicans continue […] Read more »
Why The Georgia Special Election Matters
The “takes” you’ll read about the special election in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District on Tuesday night are probably going to be dumb. A close outcome in either direction would be consistent with what we know about the political environment. So if either Democrat Jon Ossoff or Republican Karen Handel wins […] Read more »