Handel Defeats Ossoff in Georgia Special Election

 

Republican Karen Handel has defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s 6th District special election to replace HHS Secretary Tom Price. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Handel received 52.7 percent to Ossoff’s 47.3 percent.

The contest garnered significant national attention as another chance for Democrats to take a GOP seat and send a message to President Donald Trump. Ossoff, a political newcomer, raked in a staggering $23 million from across the nation, as well as high-octane political and celebrity endorsements. As with other touted Democratic efforts since Trump’s inauguration, however, it was all for naught.

Note: Being a political professional, I did offer the most important insight of the evening as the first votes rolled in.

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  1. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Hang On (View Comment):
    Nobody knows how to waste money like you neverTrumpers and Democrats

    Ugh. Can we not even celebrate a victory without bringing this crap up again.

    Let. It. Go.

    • #91
  2. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    LOL, I love your doggie observation!

    What a glorious outcome to the election.  Don’t you just love it when the media gets it wrong and under predicts conservative outcomes?  I do.  I haven’t had time for Ricochet – just checked, my last comment was 20 days ago – but the election results this morning was a prod to get back over here.  Always a pleasure to celebrate.

    • #92
  3. RyanFalcone Member
    RyanFalcone
    @RyanFalcone

    “It seems that my patriarchy might be in jeopardy!”

    -nobody

     

    • #93
  4. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):
    Nobody knows how to waste money like you neverTrumpers and Democrats

    Ugh. Can we not even celebrate a victory without bringing this crap up again.

    Let. It. Go.

    Nope.

    • #94
  5. Manny Coolidge
    Manny
    @Manny

    Suspira (View Comment):
    This is a great relief, but I can’t help think Republicans dodged a bullet here (um, maybe I shouldn’t use that saying for awhile). Ossoff was a spectacularly bad candidate of the sort run to show the flag in an overwhelmingly GOP district. How would a serious Democrat have fared in this race?

    Congressional candidates rise and fall on their ability to coalesce their base, especially in a special election. The candidate’s political skills are a minor contribution in this type of election, unlike a presidential election. I think conservatives came out, despite the – or perhaps because of – the media fury to elect a Dem.

    • #95
  6. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    Randy Webster (View Comment):

    Percival (View Comment):
    Sweeter yet: Planned Parenthood dropped $730K to beat her.

    BwhahahahaHAH!

    When are Republicans going to learn the meaning of “fungible?” That $730k was our tax dollars.

    Yeah, unfortunately. This time. For now.

    • #96
  7. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Freesmith (View Comment):
    Jon Ossoff – the biggest Democratic dreamboy since Ned Lamont.

    Where ya been?

    • #97
  8. JcTPatriot Member
    JcTPatriot
    @

    – (View Comment):

    JcTPatriot (View Comment):
    While making sure that we kept the seat is unimportant in the voting scheme of the House, the firm kick to the teeth of the DNC and slapping the smug smiles off the faces of the MSM means so much to America.

    It is not unimportant and does matter. For precisely the reasons you list. The Democrats have been investing ludicrous efforts into these trivial by-elections. It is almost soley for morale, to energize their members. “See, the ‘resistance’ is working. All the shouting, the rioting and the violence is worth it. See, it is working!”

    This one special election seat in the House means next to nothing regarding legislation, but it means a great deal to all the volunteers and activists who invested themselves into that campaign in order to convince themselves that the tide was turning. That the will of the people could be overturned through violence.

    It doesn’t end here, some will despair and a handful may even resign themselves to being rational and begin to debate their points. But some will say, “The system has failed. Time to kill some GOP/racists/nazis/selfish bastards… whatever.” Given what we have seen so far it is a foolish mistake to assume these activists so riled up will placidly accept the results here. The assasin who went for Rep. Salise and his people will not be the only one, there will be others.

    You can bank on that.

    That’s exactly what I meant. “…is unimportant in the voting scheme” meaning, with 238 R and 193 D in the House, it won’t change the results of any Bill passing, or not.

    It is a huge win as far as everything else.

    • #98
  9. Miffed White Male Member
    Miffed White Male
    @MiffedWhiteMale

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):

    (View Comment):
    Thinking about it for five seconds one might say irrelevant. The idea that this election was about Trump at all was always quite fantastical.

    I’m noticing a trend here.

    1. “Trump is toxic! We might have a chance this year.”
    2. “Polling is close. We might pull this one off!”
    3. [Democrats run on “Trump! Trump! Trump!”]
    4. [Democrats lose the election]
    5. “This had nothing to do with Trump.”

    Unless of course the Democrat had won.  Then this district would have been a nationwide repudiation of Trump and he might as well resign the presidency right now.

     

    • #99
  10. Von Snrub Inactive
    Von Snrub
    @VonSnrub

    The de-moralization of the Democrats is the most important outcome of the race. The Special Elections are a punch in the face to the pajama boys all across this fruited plane. If Republican’s could figure it out, they should drive the wedge so hard between the LEFT and the LABOUR that they become two separate parties.

     

    The Bernie Bros for whatever reason are blind to the fact that they will get what they want even if Clinton won. If they feel they need to strike off on their own, they should do it and relegate themselves to a minority for an extra decade.

    • #100
  11. Mark Darris Inactive
    Mark Darris
    @MarkDarris

    If only the poor little Democrat had possessed the necessary resources and elite media coverage necessary to defeat the Republican/Russian machine.

    • #101
  12. Doctor Robert Member
    Doctor Robert
    @DoctorRobert

    So after 4 specials in a row going R, is it finally time for the Never Trump folks to make THEIR peace with reality?

    What sayeth thou, Mr Gabriel?  Mona and Jay? Mr Poderhoz?

    • #102
  13. Doctor Robert Member
    Doctor Robert
    @DoctorRobert

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):
    Nobody knows how to waste money like you neverTrumpers and Democrats

    Ugh. Can we not even celebrate a victory without bringing this crap up again.

    Let. It. Go.

    No.  Don’t.  Despite having all the advantages, we are still sitting in the water going nowhere because 80% of the Repubs in office remain Trump hostile.

    Pass some bills, Mr Ryan.  Confirm some judges, Mr McConnell.  Ignore the false flag controversies that the left is making up out of whole cloth.  Do your freaking jobs.

    Fie on the Repubs who remain Never-Trumpsters.

    • #103
  14. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Suspira (View Comment):
    This is a great relief, but I can’t help think Republicans dodged a bullet here (um, maybe I shouldn’t use that saying for awhile). Ossoff was a spectacularly bad candidate of the sort run to show the flag in an overwhelmingly GOP district. How would a serious Democrat have fared in this race?

    But they didn’t have one…a serious democrat candidate.

    • #104
  15. Jules PA Inactive
    Jules PA
    @JulesPA

    Manny (View Comment):

    Suspira (View Comment):
    This is a great relief, but I can’t help think Republicans dodged a bullet here (um, maybe I shouldn’t use that saying for awhile). Ossoff was a spectacularly bad candidate of the sort run to show the flag in an overwhelmingly GOP district. How would a serious Democrat have fared in this race?

    Congressional candidates rise and fall on their ability to coalesce their base, especially in a special election. The candidate’s political skills are a minor contribution in this type of election, unlike a presidential election. I think conservatives came out, despite the – or perhaps because of – the media fury to elect a Dem.

    Maybe I missed a comment, but all the outside money and the outsider candidate reeks of interference. While not the Russians, simply the Dems from other states, it seems funny that the party of election interference investigation and prevention is more than hypocritical in this particular election.

    I’m just sayin’, nothing new here.

    • #105
  16. Hang On Member
    Hang On
    @HangOn

    EJHill (View Comment):
    The most important special election in the history of the Republic…. means nothing now that the Democrat lost.

    This is from today’s Transom (Ben Domenech’s daily newsletter – he used to hang around here back in the day before he got all famous. Understand he’s on Sunday shows, but I don’t watch that dreck.):
    “In the grand scheme of things, this was just one seat, and one special election, and shouldn’t be read as meaning too much – but in terms of the impact on Washington and Democratic Party leadership, this is a neutron bomb. I had half a dozen Democrats in the last month tell me essentially the same thing: that an Ossoff loss would do huge damage to their ability to recruit quality candidates for 2018, undermining the resistance and demonstrating to potential centrist candidates that none of this anti-Trump fomenting has any juice. That’s what happened.”

    So who knows.

    • #106
  17. Von Snrub Inactive
    Von Snrub
    @VonSnrub

    The candidate was serious enough. He spoke in a blue dog manner that would have worked in 06 and 08, but the memory of their betrayal is still fresh in everyone’s minds.

    If you look at the history of open seats the victory is much closer than that of an incumbents. Now that these Republicans have their seats we need to strengthen their numbers.

    Our opponents are much more emotional than us. This loss is important.

    • #107
  18. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Doctor Robert (View Comment):

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):
    Nobody knows how to waste money like you neverTrumpers and Democrats

    Ugh. Can we not even celebrate a victory without bringing this crap up again.

    Let. It. Go.

    No. Don’t. Despite having all the advantages, we are still sitting in the water going nowhere because 80% of the Repubs in office remain Trump hostile.

    Pass some bills, Mr Ryan. Confirm some judges, Mr McConnell. Ignore the false flag controversies that the left is making up out of whole cloth. Do your freaking jobs.

    Fie on the Repubs who remain Never-Trumpsters.

    And you really think antagonizing them at what should be an obvious opportunity to come together is a good strategy?

    Have you learned nothing from the Democrats’ failure?

    • #108
  19. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):

    Doctor Robert (View Comment):

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):

    Hang On (View Comment):
    Nobody knows how to waste money like you neverTrumpers and Democrats

    Ugh. Can we not even celebrate a victory without bringing this crap up again.

    Let. It. Go.

    No. Don’t. Despite having all the advantages, we are still sitting in the water going nowhere because 80% of the Repubs in office remain Trump hostile.

    Pass some bills, Mr Ryan. Confirm some judges, Mr McConnell. Ignore the false flag controversies that the left is making up out of whole cloth. Do your freaking jobs.

    Fie on the Repubs who remain Never-Trumpsters.

    And you really think antagonizing them at what should be an obvious opportunity to come together is a good strategy?

    Have you learned nothing from the Democrats’ failure?

    Agreed. No need to look for a fight and purposefully alienate someone who should be an ally.

    • #109
  20. Arizona Patriot Member
    Arizona Patriot
    @ArizonaPatriot

    I think that it’s really hard to draw any conclusions from this special election.  It is certainly good news that the Republican won.

    Here are a few quick analytical points (from Wikipedia):

    The district was redrawn in advance of the 2012 election.

    Romney defeated Obama in the district in 2012, 61%-38%

    Trump defeated Clinton in the district in 2016, 48%-47%

    Tom Price won the district in 2012, 65%-35%

    Price won the district in 2014, 66%-34%

    Price won the district in 2016, 62%-38%

    Handel just won the district yesterday, 52%-48%

    I’m hesitant about drawing any conclusions from this.  Price typically won by large margins, but he was an incumbent who first won the seat in 2004.  Price’s big win in 2016, while Trump carried the district by only 1% in the same election, shows a significant lack of correlation between the Congressional and Presidential votes.  The big spending in the 2017 special election, and the different electorate that typically turns out for a special, make any comparisons speculative.

    I also wouldn’t jump to conclusions based on the fact that Trump barely won this heavily Republican district in 2016.  We know that the Trump-Clinton contest split the electorate in unusual ways.  Trump doubtless performed far better in many areas than another Republican would have, as shown by his big victory in Ohio and remarkable wins in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.  In other areas, Trump doubtless performed worse than another Republican would have, and it appears that Georgia 6 is one of those areas.

    • #110
  21. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    I think that it’s really hard to draw any conclusions from this special election.

    Not at all, my friend. All one has to do is go back to what people were saying before the election when they thought Ossoff would win. By their logic Ossoff’s loss then becomes a re-affirmation of everything Trump stands for. We live in such interesting times.

    • #111
  22. cdor Member
    cdor
    @cdor

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    I think that it’s really hard to draw any conclusions from this special election.

    Not at all, my friend. All one has to do is go back to what people were saying before the election when they thought Ossoff would win. By their logic Ossoff’s loss then becomes a re-affirmation of everything Trump stands for. We live in such interesting times.

    Yep, one can only wonder what conclusions the Democrat/media would have drawn had Ossoff won?? Yea I really, really wonder!

    • #112
  23. Arizona Patriot Member
    Arizona Patriot
    @ArizonaPatriot

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    I think that it’s really hard to draw any conclusions from this special election.

    Not at all, my friend. All one has to do is go back to what people were saying before the election when they thought Ossoff would win. By their logic Ossoff’s loss then becomes a re-affirmation of everything Trump stands for. We live in such interesting times.

    OK, I agree that it’s easy to draw conclusions.  Heck, you can always draw any conclusion that you want.  It’s hard to draw meaningful conclusions about the national electorate from a single election.

    It is a good trend that Republicans have held several hotly contested House special elections.  But they’ve generally been closer than I would either like or expect, given the demographics of the district.  So, again, I don’t think that we can draw a meaningful conclusion from the Georgia 6 result.

    • #113
  24. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    It’s hard to draw meaningful conclusions about the national electorate from a single election.

    Oh, sure, go and throw extra words in there that totally matter. :D

    • #114
  25. Western Chauvinist Member
    Western Chauvinist
    @WesternChauvinist

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    So, again, I don’t think that we can draw a meaningful conclusion from the Georgia 6 result.

    I gotta disagree. The Democrats have been targeting these special elections with their ginormous political machine and all the money it takes to operate it. Boatloads and boatloads of (George Soros’s and PP’s) money. And they still can’t deliver a win. They never even tried to compete in these solidly Republican districts before, which is why the margins were so huge. I think it tells us there’s a ceiling on support for the Left in America, and BHO, Clinton and company have found it.

    • #115
  26. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    I think it’s huge psychologically, and if I lived in that district I’d be furious that not only did they run a candidate who doesn’t even live there, but he took millions of dollars from people who not only don’t live in the district, but don’t even live in the state. What do those people care about that district’s local issues, and where do they get off trying to influence this election?

    • #116
  27. Mike LaRoche Inactive
    Mike LaRoche
    @MikeLaRoche

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    I think it’s huge psychologically, and if I lived in that district I’d be furious that not only did they run a candidate who doesn’t even live there, but he took millions of dollars from people who not only don’t live in the district, but don’t even live in the state. What do those people care about that district’s local issues, and where do they get off trying to influence this election?

    Samuel L. Jackson got pimp-slapped for his trouble.

    • #117
  28. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    Western Chauvinist (View Comment):

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    So, again, I don’t think that we can draw a meaningful conclusion from the Georgia 6 result.

    I gotta disagree. The Democrats have been targeting these special elections with their ginormous political machine and all the money it takes to operate it. Boatloads and boatloads of (George Soros’s and PP’s) money. And they still can’t deliver a win. They never even tried to compete in these solidly Republican districts before, which is why the margins were so huge. I think it tells us there’s a ceiling on support for the Left in America, and BHO, Clinton and company have found it.

    Couldn’t agree more AP, however the Republicans better put up or there going to get put out.

    • #118
  29. Umbra Fractus Inactive
    Umbra Fractus
    @UmbraFractus

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    I think that it’s really hard to draw any conclusions from this special election.

    Not at all, my friend. All one has to do is go back to what people were saying before the election when they thought Ossoff would win. By their logic Ossoff’s loss then becomes a re-affirmation of everything Trump stands for. We live in such interesting times.

    OK, I agree that it’s easy to draw conclusions. Heck, you can always draw any conclusion that you want. It’s hard to draw meaningful conclusions about the national electorate from a single election.

    It is a good trend that Republicans have held several hotly contested House special elections. But they’ve generally been closer than I would either like or expect, given the demographics of the district. So, again, I don’t think that we can draw a meaningful conclusion from the Georgia 6 result.

    The conclusion I drew is that people might not like Trump, but they hate Nancy Pelosi.

    • #119
  30. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Umbra Fractus (View Comment):

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Arizona Patriot (View Comment):
    I think that it’s really hard to draw any conclusions from this special election.

    Not at all, my friend. All one has to do is go back to what people were saying before the election when they thought Ossoff would win. By their logic Ossoff’s loss then becomes a re-affirmation of everything Trump stands for. We live in such interesting times.

    OK, I agree that it’s easy to draw conclusions. Heck, you can always draw any conclusion that you want. It’s hard to draw meaningful conclusions about the national electorate from a single election.

    It is a good trend that Republicans have held several hotly contested House special elections. But they’ve generally been closer than I would either like or expect, given the demographics of the district. So, again, I don’t think that we can draw a meaningful conclusion from the Georgia 6 result.

    The conclusion I drew is that people might not like Trump, but they hate Nancy Pelosi.

    Umbra,

    Works for me.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #120
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