A poll from Clout Research and zpolitics released Friday shows Democrat Jon Ossoff with a strong lead over a crowded field in the race to replace Tom Price in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
With 41% of the vote, Ossoff has extended his lead from the last round of polling where he had 32% of the vote. Former Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) remains in second place at 16%, followed closely by fellow Republican and former Johns Creek Councilman Bob Gray at 15.6%. Cobb County’s Judson Hill, a former state Senator, was third among Republicans at 9%, followed by Dan Moody (R) and Ron Slotin (D).
On the Democratic side Ossoff’s big polling lead has liberal mouths watering, wondering if a major get-out-the-vote push could drive him up and over that 50% mark he would need to avoid a runoff. His Democratic rivals could throw a wrench into that plan, however. With former Democratic state Senator Ron Slotin sitting at 2.6%, we could see a scenario where he and the other remaining Dems in the race steal just enough of Ossoff’s votes to keep him under 50% on April 18th. That would be a devastating blow for a party that has come together for a candidate more than any we’ve seen in Georgia in recent years.
Even with Ossoff’s big money and big support from both local and national Democratic figures, he would be a major underdog in a special election in a district that sent Tom Price back to Washington with over 60% of the vote in his most recent race.
For the GOP an arms race has developed as the candidates jostle for position, knowing full well that whomever among them claws their way into the runoff has a great chance at becoming Georgia’s newest member of Congress.
Karen Handel, long presumed to be the front-runner for the seat, released her first ad, (one attacking Ossoff) just last Thursday, putting her far behind the pace of some of her rivals who have been on the airwaves for well over a month. That could be part of the reason that she has dropped back to the pack in this poll, where she fell 9 points from last month’s version.
Bob Gray has been the biggest riser, scoring a big endorsement from Conservative group the Club for Growth and coming out vocally against Obamacare and urging its immediate repeal. Gray has been active on the campaign trail and if this poll is any indication his hard work is paying off as he positions himself for a big election day push.
Judson Hill, a former powerful state Senator who served as Chair of the Finance Committee, has the strongest background in Cobb County and will need to really turn out that base to make his way into second place. He boasts such prolific endorsements as former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
With under a month to go expect some fireworks as this crowded race hits the home stretch.
