All eyes are on Georgia ahead of significant special election


Voters in Georgia's 6th congressional district head to the polls Tuesday to vote in a special election between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel. On Monday, President Trump weighed in with an endorsement of Handel:
Ossoff will enter election day with surprisingly strong numbers for the heavily Republican suburbs of Atlanta: "If Democrats are to keep pace with their special election results so far, then Ossoff probably should be winning the race, not just coming close — and Georgia 6 should be the election where Democrats go from 'moral victories' to actual wins," FiveThirtyEight writes in its analysis. That being said, "Ossoff [is] ahead by a not-very-safe margin of about 2 percentage points." In other words: It's still anybody's race.
But as small as the victory might ultimately be, the implications will likely be read as massive by the defeated party. "This is a laboratory. In order to win the House back we have to win in districts that are gerrymandered for Republicans, so [special elections like this one are] laboratories for us to figure out what's the best way to mobilize this vote," Democratic National Committee Associate Chair Jaime Harrison told Politico.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What's more, "a loss in Georgia's special election here could leave the [Democratic Party] demoralized, with little to show for all the furious organizing, fundraising, and spending in a handful of congressional special elections in the early months of the Trump administration," Politico writes.
"This is a harbinger of national politics. The world is looking, the nation is looking — and all the money has flowed in here," former Republican Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
5 unlawfully funny cartoons about the Executive vs the Judiciary
Cartoons Artists take on halting deportations, attacking judges, and more
By The Week US Published
-
What is the the Mar-a-Lago accord?
Talking Point A Maga economic blueprint proposes upending the global financial system. Could it fly?
By The Week UK Published
-
Facebook: Sarah Wynn-Williams' shocking exposé
Talking Point Former executive's tell-all memoir of life behind the scenes at Meta 'makes for damning reading'
By The Week UK Published
-
Reports: Musk to get briefed on top secret China war plan
Speed Read In a major expansion of Elon Musk's government role, he will be briefed on military plans for potential war with China
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump signs order to end Education Department
Speed Read The move will return education 'back to the states where it belongs,' the president says
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pauses $175M for Penn over trans athlete
Speed Read The president is withholding federal funds from the University of Pennsylvania because it once allowed a transgender swimmer to compete
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump purports to 'void' Biden pardons
Speed Read Joe Biden's pardons of Jan. 6 committee members are not valid because they were done by autopen, says Trump
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
White House ignores judicial deportation blocks
Speed Read The Trump administration deports alleged Venezuelan gang members under a wartime law, defying a court order
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Schumer: Democrats will help pass spending bill
Speed Read The Democrats end the threat of government shutdown
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published