With turnout reaching midterm levels and Jon Ossoff outperforming where it matters, the special election in Georgia’s 6th congressional district could come down to the wire with the Democrat potentially crossing the critical 50 percent mark needed to avoid a run-off.
According to Nate Cohn of The New York Times, “It’s going to be a long night. This is not what the GOP is looking for.”
Cohn notes that Ossoff’s share of the early vote is “much better than expected” and the GOP needs a “great” Election Day turnout in order to make up the difference and prevent the Democrat from crossing 50 percent.
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It’s going to be a long night. This is not what the GOP is looking for. https://t.co/MpafZP4yP1
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 19, 2017
Turnout is near midterm levels in these DeKalb precincts, which is going to raise the burden even higher on the GOP in Cobb
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 19, 2017
Ossoff at 57% in the Cobb County early vote. That’s more impressive than the DeKalb tally. Ossoff on track for 2/3 of the EV
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 19, 2017
Well, the Election Day vote better be great for the GOP. Because the early vote is simply much better than expected for Ossoff pic.twitter.com/osJzYIF4VM
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 19, 2017
In short, these numbers aren’t just exactly what the Democrats were hoping for going into Tuesday’s special election – they’re even better.
There are still a lot of votes to be counted, and Republicans are banking on a strong Election Day turnout to keep Ossoff below the all-important 50 percent threshold he needs to avoid a run-off election in June.
But right now, things are looking positive for Jon Ossoff as the votes continue to pour in.
Follow our live results blog here.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
