President Trump and his allies cheered Republican Karen Handel's victory Tuesday in the closely watched Georgia runoff as a clear endorsement of the administration's agenda - and cast Democrats' special election losing streak as a rebuke of the party's "obstruction" tactics.
Handel won the seat vacated by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
For Republicans, Pelosi is the symbol of all that is wrong with the Democratic party, and tying Ossoff to her political name helped spell an end for his unique campaign. Republicans have held that seat since Newt Gingrich won it in 1978, although Mr. Trump barely won the district by 1.5 percent in 2016.
Handel's tough race, combined with closer-than-usual GOP House victories in Kansas, Montana and SC, suggests Trump will dominate the coming election cycle, forcing Republicans to make peace with him, for better or worse.
The Georgia loss puts the Democrats at 0-4 in 2017.
Democrats spent a lot of money in the Georgia race, and began to re-assess their strategies in the wake of Ossoff's defeat. "Fantastic job, we are all very proud of you!" tweeted Trump, who had publicly implored Republicans to troop to the polls to back the candidate. Actually running on popular policies is the big secret no one at Democrat HQ seems to get.
The two campaigns and outside groups supporting and opposing the candidates shelled out at least $36 million as of May 31, including more than $22 million from Ossoff's campaign.
Amazon's Whole Foods Purchase Isn't Just About Groceries. It's About Everything
Amazon sent shockwaves through the business community Friday when it announced its purchase of supermarket chain Whole Foods . Tonight, 1 in 10 entrees served in Americans' homes will be a "prepared, ready-to-eat" item purchased outside the home.
Democrats on Tuesday also lost a special election in neighboring SC, where Republican Ralph Norman easily prevailed over Democrat Archie Parnell in a seat formerly held by Republican Mick Mulvaney, who is now Trump's budget director. After all, the new Democratic leader would be a mainstream liberal, and would come from a liberal district - likely in one of the (many) states which, when attacked, appear to excite Republican voters.
Nancy Pelosi at the Capitol on May 25. "Time to move forward and win again".
Trump rose Wednesday morning and called on Democrats to learn from their latest losses by reaching across the aisle to work with him and Republicans.
Handel, who left an abusive home as a teenager, will be the first Republican woman to represent Georgia in Congress.
As he's faced pushback from more conservative members within his own party on some legislation - particularly health care - Trump has begun to court Democratic votes, which, to this point, have been elusive. They said not to pay attention to the earlier special elections where Republicans had huge advantages and Democrats didn't run the best candidates. "But she certainly is one of the reasons".
Democrats came close but still lost two other contested special elections earlier this year for Republican-held seats in conservative Kansas and Montana, and the outcomes in Georgia and SC could put a crimp in the party's fundraising and candidate recruitment.
Comments