A Republican Senator Just Admitted Georgia’s Special Election Is Rigged
Democrats all across the country have united to contribute an unprecedented amount of money to help Jon Ossoff win the open Congressional seat in Georgia’s Sixth District as a signal that they are not ready to accept Donald Trump and the Republican agenda.
So far, the national attention has propelled Ossoff to the lead in the polls amongst the 18 candidates fighting for the seat in Tuesday’s special election
Now, a prominent Georgia Republican has basically admitted that the traditionally red district Ossoff hopes to win was gerrymandered to prevent a Democrat from ever gaining control of the seat.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, State Senator Fran Millar of Dunwoody spoke to a Republican fund-raising breakfast near Dekalb and attacked Democrats who believe that they have a “done deal that this kid’s going to become the Congressman.” Referring to Ossoff, he continued:
“I’ll be very blunt: These lines were not drawn to get Hank Johnson’s protégé to be my representative. And you didn’t hear that,” said Millar. “They were not drawn for that purpose, OK? They were not drawn for that purpose.”
While the reality of Republican state legislatures gerrymandering district boundaries to ensure that their party continues to win elections is undeniable, it’s rare to see such a blatant admission of cheating, partisan scheming and self-interest.
While the district has been reliably Republican for many years, President Trump only carried the area by 2 points in the Presidential race, and Ossoff has amassed an amazing $8.3 million war chest for his campaign. He also has the support of a highly motivated Democratic base all around the country who see the special election as a referendum against Trump and his policies.
With such a large number of candidates vying for the seat that was left vacant when the former Representative Tom Price was confirmed as Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Ossoff may still need to face a run-off election in June if he fails to win a majority on Tuesday.
However, with Republican voters split between candidates and not particularly energized to drive turnout, there is still a chance that Ossoff can draw enough disaffected Democrats and independent voters to the polls to win the seat outright on the first try.
Let’s hope that Georgia sets the pace for the next set of Democrat victories that will result in the return of Congress to a Democratic majority and sanity again.
