Though it’s still early and Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff remains an underdog in his effort to reach 50 percent and avoid a runoff in the GA-06 special election, some early indicators show that Ossoff is hitting the levels he would need to reach that important threshold.
U.S. House Editor for Cook Political Report, Dave Wasserman, notes which numbers the Democrat must hit to be on track to reach 50 percent.
Rule of thumb: to be on track to hit 50% and *avoid* a runoff, Ossoff probably needs around 62% in DeKalb, 51% in Fulton, 45% in Cobb. #GA06
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) April 18, 2017
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According to Nate Cohn of The New York Times, Ossoff is on track in at least one county, DeKalb, where he is outperforming Hillary Clinton’s vote margin “basically everywhere” in the important county:
Ossoff at 71% of the in-person early vote in DeKalb. Puts Ossoff on track for ~61% of the in-person vote, by our estimates.
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 18, 2017
Ossoff running ahead of our Clinton support estimate basically everywhere in DeKalb pic.twitter.com/svAouVoykr
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) April 18, 2017
Once again, it’s important to note just how early in the night we are, and there are plenty more votes to be counted at this hour. Not to mention the fact that Ossoff’s ability to sustain these margins as the night goes on will depend on turnout.
The night is young and there is a long way to go, but Jon Ossoff appears to be performing well where it counts – at least for now.
For more, follow along with our live GA 06 results page.
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.