All eyes are on Georgia’s 6th Congressional District for the June 20 runoff to fill the seat vacated by Tom Price’s appointment as secretary of Health and Human Services. In a recent poll, Democrat Jon Ossoff held a seven-point lead over Republican Karen Handel in this district that has held by the GOP for nearly 40 years. Ossoff has raised more than $24 million, making this the most expensive House race in U.S. history. The runoff has become a test of Democratic enthusiasm with Donald Trump in the White House. Robert Costa will be reporting from Georgia to see what lessons can be learned ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Clip: Georgia runoff tests Democratic enthusiasm in Trump presidency
Jun. 15, 2017 AT 2:50 p.m. EDT
TRANSCRIPT
Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.
It’s the question every political reporter wants answered: Just how motivated are Democratic voters in the age of President Trump?
Perhaps the best test of that enthusiasm will be June 20 in the suburbs of Atlanta. Republicans there are trying to defend the seat that was vacated when Tom Price joined President Trump's cabinet as secretary of Health and Human Services.
And it will be a nailbiter. In an Atlanta Journal Constitution poll released late last week, Democrat Jon Ossoff has a seven-point lead over Republican Karen Handel in this traditionally red district.
Helping prop up Ossoff above the 50-percent threshold? President Trump’s approval rating, which has dropped three points since April’s primary election.
Oh, and the $24 million he’s raised doesn’t hurt either. This has become the most expensive house race in U.S. history.
While Karen Handel works on getting out reliably Republican voters, Jon Ossoff is trying to expand the electorate that shows up at the polls.
What can we learn about the Democrats’ chances of taking back the House of Representatives during next year’s midterms? I’ll be reporting down in Georgia ahead of the runoff on tuesday to try to find out.
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