We’ve been following the special election for Georgia’s sixth Congressional District. Vacated by Rep. Tom Price when he left to serve as HHS Secretary, the race has drawn national attention. GA-6 is Newt Gingrich’s old district and has been in Republican hands since 1979.
For better or worse, Democrats have pitched the race as a referendum on President Trump’s agenda. GA-6 though was not a die-hard Trump district in the 2016 election. Trump only won by 1.5 points as most of the district’s voters chose Rubio in the Republican primary. But so desperate are Democrats to find a mandate to oppose Trump, this is the route they’ve chosen.
Ridiculous amounts of money have been dumped into this race, which has seen ranking party officials and Hollywood types stumping for candidates on both sides.
Polling has consistently shown the race is in a dead heat, with any variation falling in the margin of error. Both sides are nervously hedging their bets, awaiting tonight’s outcome, though Democrats seem to be the more nervous of the two. Polls close at 7:00 PM EDT with two polling locations open until 7:30 EDT.
We’ll be updating this post as news requires, so be sure to refresh often for the latest. You’ll find the most recent updates up top.
From David Wasserman at Fivethirtyeight:
We’re Talking Historic Turnout In Georgia 6This isn’t just the most expensive House race ever, with both sides combining to spend over $50 million. Today’s election is also on track to produce mammoth turnout, likely higher than in next year’s midterms. I’d estimate there could be around 250,000 votes cast in the district today, compared to 210,504 in the 2014 midterm. (That would amount to about $200 of spending per vote.)Montana’s at-large election on May 25 set the all-time record for votes cast in a stand-alone House special election at 381,416 — but that’s a result not only of high interest but the state’s size: There are roughly 781,000 eligible voters in Montana, compared to about 465,000 in Georgia 6. If even 230,000 people vote in Georgia 6, turnout there would exceed Montana’s.When’s the last time turnout for a stand-alone House special election was above 50 percent of eligible voters? I’ve scoured a lengthy list of such elections over the last century and can’t find a single example.
Tweets from https://twitter.com/LegInsurrection/lists/elections
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY