Democrats thought the special election in Georgia’s sixth district was the end of Donald Trump.
Hillary Clinton narrowly lost the district in 2016 and the left believed just one victory would burst open the flood gates and create a Democratic tidal wave in the 2018 midterms.
But when all the voters were counted, Nancy Pelosi received one stunning message.
The special election in Georgia was the fifth special election of the Trump era.
Democrats had lost the previous four, and they needed badly to claim a victory to keep up the fake news media narrative that the GOP charted a disastrous course by aligning with Trump.
The race turned into the most expensive Congressional campaign in history with both sides spending over $50 million dollars.
The polls going into the election showed Democrat Jon Ossoff – who couldn’t vote for himself because he didn’t live in the district – slightly ahead of Republican Karen Handel.
Pundits were drooling because they believed they were on the cusp of being able to write a “Trump is finished” narrative.
By their telling, Ossoff should win because the Georgia sixth is filled with the type of college educated voters who are repelled by Donald Trump and this would foretell a sweep across suburbia in the 2018 midterms.
This would install Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
But when the votes were counted, Handel defeated Ossoff.
A late ad from Principled PAC tying Ossoff to the unhinged leftists who are committing acts of violence against Republicans was key to Handel’s late surge.
After the victory, Trump crowed on twitter that despite the fake news media trying to paint a picture of the GOP in a political death spiral, Republicans have won every special election.
Well, the Special Elections are over and those that want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN are 5 and O! All the Fake News, all the money spent = 0
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2017
In even worse news for Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats, the special elections proved that the GOP base is united around Trump and that campaigning against the idea of Pelosi as Speaker is still a potent weapon for Republicans.
One of the Republican Party’s winning attacks on Ossoff was that a vote for Ossoff was a vote for Pelosi.
The Washington Post’s Dave Weigel wrote:
“The CLF’s mail, provided by a source in the district, makes the point eloquently. In scores of mail pieces sent to Republicans, the same message has been drilled again and again: Ossoff will align with House Democratic Nancy Pelosi (who is unpopular with Republican voters), does not currently live in the district and has attracted donors from outside Georgia (a fact unpopular with Republican voters), and worked with the Al Jazeera TV network (which has been demonized for Republican voters). Mailer after mailer hits those same themes, accompanied by a different pun, changing little from the April 18 primary to now. “
There have been five special elections held across America since Trump was elected President.
And the message the voters have sent is clear – they do not want Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.
