Democrat Jon Ostroff has done something that was viewed as impossible just a few short weeks ago. In a congressional district in Georgia that has historically voted for Republicans - but barely voted for Donald Trump in last year's presidential election - the former congressional staffer forced a runoff in a Special Election for the seat of Republican Tom Price, who was given a cabinet position in the current presidential administration.
Upset results
As the results began to come in, the hopes of an upset victory for the Democrat shot through the roof. With three percent of the votes in, Ossoff had a dominant 61.5% of the vote, with the next closest competitor stuck all the way back at 14.4%. From that point on, the polls slid all over the place throughout the night as pollsters searched for a winner to the special election, which was bound to cause a runoff due to the state's laws.
As 50% of the precincts reported, Ossoff hovered just over 50%, significant because anything less would create a new June 20th runoff between the top two candidates.
It would be an opportunity for the Republican Party to throw themselves behind one candidate and take back the 6th District, which the GOP seemed to be rightfully theirs. It was meant to be, as the fast-rising Democrat carried the special election to the end, but taking only 48.1% of the vote, creating a runoff contest against Karen Handel.
Shakeup could portend 2018 elections
Giving a House seat to a Democrat wouldn't do much to change the math of the current House of Representatives. Ossoff's victory, however, paired with a near Democratic victory in another special election in Kansas, would likely have the GOP concerned about losing the majorities they worked so hard to gain just a few months ago, riding on the coattails of Donald Trump's populism-based rise.
The diminishing of the Republican Party in regions and districts that have traditionally supported the party can be seen as a result of either the lack of popularity for Trump or the lack of successful legislation passed so far in the new administration, from health care to travel bans. Ossoff is certainly an anti-Trump candidate, but his opponents in the special election ran the gamut in terms of their support for the president. The issue for the GOP was that there were too many of them, all gaining various endorsements, leading them to eat each other alive and giving the Democrat an opportunity to pull off another upset in June.