Last updated on June 10th, 2017 at 10:06 am
With less than two weeks until voters in Georgia’s 6th congressional district vote to fill a seat that’s been held by Republicans for four decades, Democrat Jon Ossoff continues to hold a small but steady lead over GOP opponent Karen Handel.
According to a new WSB/Landmark poll released on Thursday, Ossoff leads 50-47 percent.
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Ossoff (D) 50 (+1 in a week)
Handel (R) 47 (-1)WSB/Landmark Pollhttps://t.co/7Hp6DwSKsz
— Political Polls (@PpollingNumbers) June 8, 2017
While the Democrat’s lead is slim, it appears to be somewhat durable and there are even signs that he is gaining support as the special election approaches. The same poll released last week showed a tighter race, with Ossoff only leading by a single point, 49 to 48 percent.
The new momentum for Democrats in a district Trump carried in 2016 comes as the White House continues to crumble under the weight of the Russia investigation, with James Comey’s testimony on Thursday dealing the latest blow.
New polling also shows the president’s approval rating mired in the 30s – a dangerous place for a president who wants to enact his agenda and for Republicans up and down the ballot.
Ossoff’s bump also comes on the heels of a disastrous debate performance by GOP candidate Karen Handel, in which she explicitly said, “I do not support a livable wage.”
To be sure, Ossoff is still the underdog – the last GOP candidate to run for the seat won 62 percent of the vote – but a combination of Trump’s collapsing presidency and Handel’s missteps could spell a Democratic update on June 20.
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.
