Georgia House election goes to a runoff, Jon Ossoff just shy of 50% needed for a knockout

Headed into today, Jon Ossoff was polling in the low 40s. He needed to hit 50 to avoid a runoff to claim the seat formerly held by Tom Price and, before him, Newt Gingrich. It looks like he'll finish at somewhere between 47 and 49. I was in Georgia today for the election and this is a sprawling, wealthy, largely white, very-Republican-looking district. (My story is here.) A bunch of other Democratic candidates on the ballot picked up a handful of votes, and it'll be interesting to find out whether it made the difference. Among the Republicans, the winner was Karen Handel, and she'll face off against Ossoff in a June 20th final election. The CW is that Handel has the advantage, but if enthusiasm stays where it is, it's going to be awfully close. (Also, Handel isn't even a career politician, she's a career losing candid ate, who also blew up Race for the Cure.) Trump only won this district by 1.5 points, but Tom Price won it by 24, and that seems to be the more accurate reflection of it. To have Ossoff within striking distance is a real thing. Comparing his special election total to other midterm and House race totals shows an entirely different electorate. Oh, and meanwhile, ten days from now, the government runs out of money, and unless Trump, Ryan and McConnell can figure something out, we're looking at a possible shutdown. And then comes the Montana special election. Also, I profiled Maxine Waters, who has suddenly become famous again. That story is here. You're getting this email because you either signed up for it or you took a survey and opted in to this newsletter -- or, probably, you declined to opt out. Either way, I hope you're enjoying it. I'm a political reporter and editor with The Huffington Post and I send this several times a week. If you see an ad here, it's there because sending mass emails turns out to be really expensive. I'm not making any money off of it; it goes to the email service provider and just defrays the cost a bit. If you want to contribute directly to help keep the thing running, you can do so here, though be warned a donation comes with no tote bags or extra premium content or anything. If somebody forwarded you this note, you can sign up to start getting your own copy here. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address or to stop receiving emails from Bad News, please click here.