Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez reached out to party members today to support Dems’ “big investment” in hiring field organizers to turn out Georgia voters who previously didn’t show up to the polls in the 6th Congressional District special election.
The runoff between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel is set for June 20, and both parties are pouring resources into the seat vacated by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Ossoff received 48.1 percent in the first round, and Handel received 19.8 percent in a crowded Republican field. With no candidate topping 50 percent, the race went to a final round.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that nearly 8,000 new voters have registered or transferred into the district, adding to 521,000 already registered voters; a federal judge extended registration through May 21. Early voting began Tuesday
“Earlier this month, we made a big investment in Georgia Democrats that’s allowing the state party to hire ten new field organizers who are specifically focused on turning out African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos who didn’t vote last year for Jon Ossoff in the special election on June 20th,” Perez said in a fundraising pitch to supporters. “They’ll use every hour of these next three weeks organizing volunteers, knocking on doors, and hitting the phones to get Jon’s message out and help every eligible voter in Georgia’s 6th congressional district cast their ballot for Jon.”
“With everything that’s happening in Washington right now — a health care repeal that would hurt millions of Americans on the verge of passage, a budget that would make unprecedented cuts to Medicaid and education, and worse news about Trump’s collusion with Russia trickling out every day — we have to take advantage of every opportunity to gain ground in Congress,” he added, warning the 6th District race “will go down to the wire.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee is unloading on Ossoff, releasing a new ad calling the Dem “just too risky” for supporting Syrian refugees and the Iran nuclear deal.
“Not only did Jon Ossoff lie about his national security experience, he and Nancy Pelosi support policies that would make our country less safe,” said NRCC communications director Matt Gorman. “Jon Ossoff is a risk Georgians shouldn’t have to take.”
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