Republicans Look To Avoid A Political Headache In Georgia
Republicans are trying to prevent a political tremor from happening Tuesday night just north of Atlanta that would be a blow to President Trump and a boon to the rising Democratic opposition to him.
"I'm very concerned," said Tom Boyle, a 76-year-old retiree from Roswell, Ga., as he was making calls at a Republican phone bank on Monday afternoon.
In a closely watched Georgia special election that Democrats have tried to turn into a referendum on Trump, if Democrat Jon Ossoff is able to top 50 percent in Tuesday's all-party primary featuring 18 candidates he'll win outright here.
That's a result that was thought impossible months ago. This is a district, after all, that was held for two decades by former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and for the past 12 years by Tom Price, an anti-Obamacare champion, who vacated the seat when he was appointed as Trump's Health and Human Services secretary.
While an outright Ossoff win Tuesday night still remains improbable, it's no longer thought to be impossible. Still, given the Republican leanings of this district, and a strong push from GOP outside groups, an outright win Tuesday might be Ossoff's best chance at winning the seat.
The stakes are high for both parties. If Republicans lose, it would send a warning
