Missed it by that much. If Jon Ossoff, the documentary filmmaker running for Tom Price’s open seat in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, got a vote for every word written about him in the past few weeks, he could probably have been elected president—if only he were old enough to run. If the 30-year old Democrat had just one vote for every $87 spent by his campaign—which raised $8.3 million for a seat where the last Democratic candidate spent only $346—he would now be on his way to Washington. Instead Ossoff, who got 48.1 percent yesterday in the district’s “jungle primary”—pitting 18 candidates, regardless of party affiliation, into the same contest—now faces a runoff against former secretary of state Karen Handel on June 20.

“Electing a Democrat to replace Price would be a CRUSHING blow to Trump,” said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which mostly sat out James Thompson’s race in Kansas a week earlier but poured money and troops into the Georgia contest. Daily Kos, whose members donated over $1 million to Ossoff’s campaign, proclaimed that “flipping this seat from red to blue would send shockwaves through Congress.” The New Yorker gushed over Ossoff’s “Kennedy-ish features and…Obama-like manner of speaking,” while New York magazine put the young Georgian on the cover. MSNBC dubbed Ossoff “an unlikely hero” who has become “the face of the resistance.”

From the moment he launched his long-shot bid with an invitation to “Make Trump Furious,” Ossoff tapped a gusher of discontent that saw him endorsed by everyone from Rep. John Lewis (whom Ossoff interned with in high school) and Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams to actors Debra Messing and George Takei. Nancy Pelosi hosted a fund-raiser for him at DNC headquarters. Samuel L. Jackson cut a radio ad which, though not mentioning Ossoff by name, urged listeners “to channel the great vengeance and furious anger we have for this administration into votes at the ballot box.” Alyssa Milano and Christopher Gorham, in Georgia filming a pilot for CW, tweeted an offer to personally drive Ossoff voters to the polls.

What’s not to like? Especially since Trump rose spectacularly to the bait, not only attacking Ossoff on Twitter but taping a fund-raising appeal to supporters warning “only you can stop the super liberal Democrats.” Though neither Handel nor any of the other 10 Republicans running in the primary spent anything like Ossoff, the GOP’s Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC put $2.2 million into ads attacking him, including one featuring the shocking revelation that as a student Ossoff once dressed up as Han Solo—and even sang in a Georgetown a capella group! In South Korea, War Hysteria Is Seen as an American Problem House Republicans Just Voted to Eliminate the Only Federal Agency That Makes Sure Voting Machines Can’t Be Hacked The Devastating Process of Dying in America Without Insurance Flipping the 6th—a district that last “flipped” in 1978, when it sent a young professor named Newt Gingrich to Congress—would indeed represent a bloody nose for Republicans, who carried the seat by 23 points in November. Though not a catastrophe for Trump, who led Clinton here by less than two points—the gap between Trump’s performance and Price’s is the rationale for Ossoff’s candidacy—a loss here would also be an embarrassment for the president. And who could possibly object to that? Of course Ossoff could still win the runoff—though Nate Silver’s claim that “the outcome of a runoff is more like a true 50-50 proposition” shows not even quants are immune from wishful thinking. Winning a two-person race in a historically Republican district, gerrymandered to stay that way by some of the cleverest minds in politics, against an opponent with both name recognition and statewide experience, would be huge upset. THE STAKES ARE HIGHER NOW THAN EVER. GET THE NATION IN YOUR INBOX. But even if Ossoff does pull one off in June, it will be hard to paint his victory as any kind of progressive triumph. The candidate himself seems earnest, and (to borrow a phrase) likable enough for someone who clearly had his eye on a political career for quite a while. As a filmmaker, Ossoff’s targets included “Nigeria’s Fake Doctors,” Big Tobacco (in Kenya), and corruption in Mozambique—all worthy, and all very far away. As a candidate, he’s been forthright in defense of Planned Parenthood—which might actually help against Handel, who resigned from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation after the group reversed a decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood. And he’s nobody’s idea of a blue dog. But with campaign ads arguing “both parties in Washington waste too much of your money,” Ossoff is running as a pragmatic centrist, not a political revolutionary. That doesn’t bother MoveOn.org, whose 15,000 Georgia members voted overwhelmingly to endorse him. “He’s talking in a way that connects with voters in his district,” Matt Blizek, the group’s electoral field director, told me. “This was a pretty pro-Clinton district,” he said. Ossoff, for better and worse, is definitely a candidate a Clinton supporter could love. Just as an Ossoff victory would represent a repudiation of Trump, but not our broken politics, his failure to pull off an upset yesterday has little to tell us about the prospects for bolder candidates with more audacious agendas. A winning smile and the ability to avoid controversy will never be enough to turn this country around. Cutting off the school-to-prison pipeline; breaking the corporate stranglehold on our politics, and Big Oil’s steady suffocation of our planet; ending the rationing of health care and educational opportunity by income, and the police targeting of young men by race—all require a lot more than tinkering around the edges. There are Democrats, right now, who could lead those fights, like Rob Quist in Montana, Tom Perriello in Virginia, or Heath Mello in Omaha, struggling to raise a fraction of the funds behind Ossoff. It may have been fun to watch, but despite all the money, and all the media attention, the battle for Georgia’s 6th district, however entertaining, was never more than an expensive sideshow.</s>Another special election, another near upset for Democrats. Running against a slew of Republican competitors to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in Georgia's 6th congressional district, Democrat Jon Ossoff fell just short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. He will now face the second-place finisher, the infamous Karen Handel, on June 20.

It's a good sign for Democrats — and a good test case for the areas of the country where Hillary Clinton did unusually well. But they should be wary before using Ossoff's campaign strategy as a template for the rest of the country. To win in districts President Trump dominated in 2016, Democrats would be well advised to adopt better class politics.

The 6th district is a wealthy suburb of Atlanta — Newt Gingrich's old seat, though the district boundaries have been adjusted since then — and has been reliably electing Republicans for decades. Tom Price won the 2016 election by 23 points (though his opponent did not campaign and maybe did not exist at all).

The swing from the previous election is similar in magnitude to that of Kansas' 4th district, which Democrat James Thompson narrowly lost earlier this month. However, there is one key difference: Where Ossoff only did slightly better than Hillary Clinton did, Thompson bested her margin by 20 points, despite running on a pro-choice platform in about the most fervently pro-life city in the entire country. You can chalk that up to Thompson's class politics, which were miles better than Clinton's and which allowed him to credibly criticize the wretched Republican economic performance in the state.

Clinton's campaign was by and for upper-class white-collar professionals, and Ossoff (perhaps wisely) followed her lead. His extremely bland campaign was about responsible governance, an end to corruption, and bipartisanship. In a wealthy, largely white Georgia suburb, that plays pretty well — as it probably will in similar places, like Texas' 32nd and 7th districts, which Clinton actually won. Run a more competent and energetic version of her basic campaign strategy, and Democrats ought to be able to scoop up those seats without breaking a sweat. (Colin Allred, a former NFL player, has already declared for the 32nd, which Democrats did not even contest in 2016.)

However, as the election of President Trump shows, catering mainly to upper-class professionals does not play well in lower-class communities — especially those that have been harmed by neoliberal deregulation and trade deals supported by Clintonite Democrats. Personally taking gobs of cash from big banks and spending half the campaign fundraising from the ultra-wealthy makes working-class people suspect (probably correctly) that you are not particularly interested in meaningfully improving their lot in life.

For Trump-friendly states, Sanders-style class politics is a far better approach, as his primary performance (where he generally rolled up huge margins in Trump country) and Thompson's campaign shows.

Unfortunately for Clinton, one campaign cannot cater to both the working class and the upper class. Clinton chose the latter and lost. But individual candidates can do that. A national party should contest every single seat, and that means tailoring candidates to fit each district. Running Clinton-style candidates in places like Orange County makes decent sense — but so does running fervent populists in Trump country (incidentally, this is where most of the Senate Democrats who are up for re-election in 2018 are).

I would bet a substantial sum that extant Democratic Party elites are going to focus overwhelmingly on the rich districts, where people like themselves live. Luckily, there is large and growing alternative machinery to help Sanders Democrats run. Conditions look good for a very strong showing for Democrats in 2018, even if outsiders have to drag the incompetent party leadership kicking and screaming into it.</s>Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanScott Walker's son considers congressional run Bloomberg revises story on Trump Labor pick who was reinstated Labor reinstates official accused of anti-Semitic posts by Bloomberg story: report MORE (R-Wis.) will head to Georgia to campaign alongside GOP candidate Karen Handel in the much-watched House special election, Politico reported Wednesday.

Ryan will stump alongside Handel sometime in the next few weeks, a Ryan political aide told Politico Wednesday.

Handel will face off against Democrat Jon Ossoff in a June runoff race to fill the seat of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

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Democrats had hoped Ossoff would be able to clinch more than 50 percent of the vote in a Tuesday primary and win the seat outright, but he fell below the mark. Handel received about 20 percent of the vote but was up against a crowded field of GOP competitors.

Both parties will now coalesce around their candidate in the final race, which is being cast as an early sign of what's to come in 2018 and a measure of backlash against President Trump.

Ossoff, who raised a massive $8 million for the primary, is continuing to rake in donations.

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Keenan Pontoni, Ossoff’s campaign manager, said the investigative filmmaker raised over $500,000 on Wednesday alone, according to Politico.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will reportedly also contribute $500,000 to promoting Ossoff on TV.

Politico reported that the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC that has already spent about $3 million attacking Ossoff, is also planning additional investments in the race.</s>Fan favourites Karen and Ros, were eliminated from My Kitchen Rules on Wednesday.

The midwives battled Tim and Kyle - who previously made MKR history scoring the highest ever score for their instant restaurant - in a sudden-death cook off.

The two teams had to create three desserts on one plate for the challenge, with Karen and Ros creating a chocolate feast.

'Playing to your strengths ladies, death by chocolate,' judge Pete Evans joked, before he gave them their feedback.

'I love chocolate and for me, the highlight was the chocolate mousse, it was beautiful and light,' he said.

Fellow judge Manu Feildel also said he enjoyed the chocolate mousse and said he enjoyed the balsamic strawberries.

However the pair fell short on their chocolate fudge cake, with Pete describing it as 'a little bit dense.'

'It was good, but it wasn't perfect,' he said.

Tim and Kyle received glowing reviews for their trio of mousse, which Pete dubbed the 'dessert of the competition' because it was 'flawless.'

It was a success for the pair, as they don't consider themselves good at making desserts, unlike Karen and Ros.

Ahead of the cook off, Tim said to camera: 'The d-word mate, we don't like desserts.'

It was also Karen and Ros and Tim and Kyle's first sudden-death.

After being eliminated, Karen and Ros said they had enjoyed their time in the competition.

'We've had the most wonderful experience and look, we are just so pleased we have come this far,' Karen said.

Karen and Ros and Tim and Kyle found themselves in the sudden-death cook off after they failed to impress in the first challenge, where the teams cooked using one choice of meat.

They all had to whip up a plate featuring three dishes, using one form of protein.

Karen and Ros chose to make a trio of pork, and created pork shoulder with polenta, crispy pork belly, and pork cutlet with picked onion.

Tim and Kyle meanwhile, cooked a trio of beef, featuring beef parmigiana, spaghetti and meatballs and peppered beef.

Karen and Ros burnt their crackling and only put a tiny amount on their plate, while Tim and Kyle's parmigiana was told it's 'pub food' but 'not good pub food.'

Their spaghetti sauce was also not the best.</s>Atlanta (CNN) In Karen Handel, Republicans found an experienced political hand to take on Democratic online fundraising star Jon Ossoff in the runoff for a hotly contested House seat in Georgia.

But with Handel's political experience comes baggage.

The former Georgia secretary of state's stances on social issues are certain to be a focus in the runoff -- particularly her effort to stop the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the breast cancer charity where she was senior vice president for policy, from funding screenings through Planned Parenthood because she opposes abortion rights. She later wrote a book, "Planned Bullyhood," about the episode.

The contest has largely been seen as a test of President Donald Trump's popularity -- particularly because he barely won the district, even though his pick for health and human services secretary, former Rep. Tom Price, was re-elected in 2016 by more than 20 points, and Mitt Romney had carried the district by 23 points in 2012.

Handel raised eyebrows when she didn't mention Trump at all in her speech Tuesday night. But she tweeted Wednesday morning that the President had called her. And, asked on CNN's "New Day" whether Trump would campaign for her, she said: "I would hope so."

"He just called to say, 'Congratulations' and encourage me and let me know that as we go into June 20, that it's all-hands-on-deck for Republicans and we take it very seriously," she said.

Handel, 55, grew up in the Washington suburbs in Maryland and moved to Atlanta in the 1990s for her husband's work. She later became a Fulton County commissioner and then Georgia's secretary of state.

Handel has twice run unsuccessfully for higher office, losing in GOP primaries both times. In 2010, she was defeated in a governor's race by Nathan Deal. And in 2014, she unsuccessfully sought a US Senate seat won by David Perdue.

Since her 2010 campaign, Handel has been -- as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution put it -- on the outside of local Republican politics looking in.

"Now we have the question: Will the Republican power crowd that isn't here right now, and they're not going to be here tonight -- there's going to be some talking done in the backroom. Do they get behind her or do they not?"

Handel was targeted by other Republicans during the 6th District jungle primary -- including Dan Moody, whose campaign aired a memorable ad portraying Handel, who often wears a pearl necklace, as an elephant wearing an enormous set of pearls.

She was also attacked by the Club for Growth over what it called out-of-control spending -- particularly on her office budget -- as a Fulton County commissioner.

Democrats are already readying their attacks against Handel, signaling they are prepared to pick up on the spending-related attacks.

"Handel's career as a big-spending career politician will haunt her candidacy," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee press secretary Evan Lukaske said in a memo.

Handel's efforts as secretary of state to purge Georgia's voter rolls by requiring voters to prove their citizenship led to fights with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

In an interview last month, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez -- who led the Civil Rights Division during President Barack Obama's first term -- said voters would hear "a lot" about Handel's efforts to require voters to prove their citizenship if she advanced to the runoff.

"Secretaries of state matter, and when they're good, then people can actually vote who are eligible to vote. And when they're following the ALEC playbook of the far right, they make it harder for people to vote," Perez said, referring to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.</s>Atlanta (CNN) In Karen Handel, Republicans found an experienced political hand to take on Democratic online fundraising star Jon Ossoff in the runoff for a hotly contested House seat in Georgia.

But with Handel's political experience comes baggage.

The former Georgia secretary of state's stances on social issues are certain to be a focus in the runoff -- particularly her effort to stop the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the breast cancer charity where she was senior vice president for policy, from funding screenings through Planned Parenthood because she opposes abortion rights. She later wrote a book, "Planned Bullyhood," about the episode.

The contest has largely been seen as a test of President Donald Trump's popularity -- particularly because he barely won the district, even though his pick for health and human services secretary, former Rep. Tom Price, was re-elected in 2016 by more than 20 points, and Mitt Romney had carried the district by 23 points in 2012.

Handel raised eyebrows when she didn't mention Trump at all in her speech Tuesday night. But she tweeted Wednesday morning that the President had called her. And, asked on CNN's "New Day" whether Trump would campaign for her, she said: "I would hope so."

"He just called to say, 'Congratulations' and encourage me and let me know that as we go into June 20, that it's all-hands-on-deck for Republicans and we take it very seriously," she said.

Handel, 55, grew up in the Washington suburbs in Maryland and moved to Atlanta in the 1990s for her husband's work. She later became a Fulton County commissioner and then Georgia's secretary of state.

Handel has twice run unsuccessfully for higher office, losing in GOP primaries both times. In 2010, she was defeated in a governor's race by Nathan Deal. And in 2014, she unsuccessfully sought a US Senate seat won by David Perdue.

Since her 2010 campaign, Handel has been -- as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution put it -- on the outside of local Republican politics looking in.

"Now we have the question: Will the Republican power crowd that isn't here right now, and they're not going to be here tonight -- there's going to be some talking done in the backroom. Do they get behind her or do they not?"

Handel was targeted by other Republicans during the 6th District jungle primary -- including Dan Moody, whose campaign aired a memorable ad portraying Handel, who often wears a pearl necklace, as an elephant wearing an enormous set of pearls.

She was also attacked by the Club for Growth over what it called out-of-control spending -- particularly on her office budget -- as a Fulton County commissioner.

Democrats are already readying their attacks against Handel, signaling they are prepared to pick up on the spending-related attacks.

"Handel's career as a big-spending career politician will haunt her candidacy," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee press secretary Evan Lukaske said in a memo.

Handel's efforts as secretary of state to purge Georgia's voter rolls by requiring voters to prove their citizenship led to fights with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

In an interview last month, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez -- who led the Civil Rights Division during President Barack Obama's first term -- said voters would hear "a lot" about Handel's efforts to require voters to prove their citizenship if she advanced to the runoff.

"Secretaries of state matter, and when they're good, then people can actually vote who are eligible to vote. And when they're following the ALEC playbook of the far right, they make it harder for people to vote," Perez said, referring to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.</s>Story highlights Perez is headed to Georgia on Thursday to raise money for the race

The hotly contested race carried major implications as a gauge of President Donald Trump's popularity

(CNN) Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez struck a positive note Wednesday morning just hours after Democrat candidate Jon Ossoff narrowly fell short of capturing a House seat in a longtime conservative stronghold in Georgia.

"We have a lot of wind at our back," Perez told CNN's Chris Cuomo on "New Day." "The progressive energy out there is palpable and the volunteers are out there."

Ossoff received 48.1% of the vote, shy of the 50% he needed to win outright. He and the other top vote-getter -- Republican candidate Karen Handel, who received 19.8% -- will now face off in a runoff election in June, a likely uphill climb for Democrats now that the Republican vote in a reliably GOP district will be consolidated behind one candidate.

The hotly contested race carried major implications as a gauge of President Donald Trump's popularity -- and Trump himself seemed to grasp the high stakes, playing a direct role in its closing days with robocalls and by attacking Ossoff repeatedly on Twitter.

On Tuesday, Trump claimed victory, calling it a "BIG 'R' win with runoff in Georgia" on Twitter and citing his own contributions.

Read More</s>Atlanta (CNN) In Karen Handel, Republicans found an experienced political hand to take on Democratic online fundraising star Jon Ossoff in the runoff for a hotly contested House seat in Georgia.

But with Handel's political experience comes baggage.

The former Georgia secretary of state's stances on social issues are certain to be a focus in the runoff -- particularly her effort to stop the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the breast cancer charity where she was senior vice president for policy, from funding screenings through Planned Parenthood because she opposes abortion rights. She later wrote a book, "Planned Bullyhood," about the episode.

The contest has largely been seen as a test of President Donald Trump's popularity -- particularly because he barely won the district, even though his pick for health and human services secretary, former Rep. Tom Price, was re-elected in 2016 by more than 20 points, and Mitt Romney had carried the district by 23 points in 2012.

Handel raised eyebrows when she didn't mention Trump at all in her speech Tuesday night. But she tweeted Wednesday morning that the President had called her. And, asked on CNN's "New Day" whether Trump would campaign for her, she said: "I would hope so."

"He just called to say, 'Congratulations' and encourage me and let me know that as we go into June 20, that it's all-hands-on-deck for Republicans and we take it very seriously," she said.

Handel, 55, grew up in the Washington suburbs in Maryland and moved to Atlanta in the 1990s for her husband's work. She later became a Fulton County commissioner and then Georgia's secretary of state.

Handel has twice run unsuccessfully for higher office, losing in GOP primaries both times. In 2010, she was defeated in a governor's race by Nathan Deal. And in 2014, she unsuccessfully sought a US Senate seat won by David Perdue.

Since her 2010 campaign, Handel has been -- as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution put it -- on the outside of local Republican politics looking in.

"Now we have the question: Will the Republican power crowd that isn't here right now, and they're not going to be here tonight -- there's going to be some talking done in the backroom. Do they get behind her or do they not?"

Handel was targeted by other Republicans during the 6th District jungle primary -- including Dan Moody, whose campaign aired a memorable ad portraying Handel, who often wears a pearl necklace, as an elephant wearing an enormous set of pearls.

She was also attacked by the Club for Growth over what it called out-of-control spending -- particularly on her office budget -- as a Fulton County commissioner.

Democrats are already readying their attacks against Handel, signaling they are prepared to pick up on the spending-related attacks.

"Handel's career as a big-spending career politician will haunt her candidacy," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee press secretary Evan Lukaske said in a memo.

Handel's efforts as secretary of state to purge Georgia's voter rolls by requiring voters to prove their citizenship led to fights with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

In an interview last month, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez -- who led the Civil Rights Division during President Barack Obama's first term -- said voters would hear "a lot" about Handel's efforts to require voters to prove their citizenship if she advanced to the runoff.

"Secretaries of state matter, and when they're good, then people can actually vote who are eligible to vote. And when they're following the ALEC playbook of the far right, they make it harder for people to vote," Perez said, referring to the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.</s>Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez is supporting Democrat Jon Ossoff's congressional campaign in Georgia. His opponent Republican Karen Handel hopes Donald Trump will campaign for her.</s>There's so much win in this Jon Ossoff interview.

MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle points out the Donald Trump tweeted six times about the Georgia Six race. She doesn't mention that he also recorded the worst robocall in the history of American politics, in my opinion.

Ossoff would not respond with Trump's name:

JON OSSOFF: Folks in Washington tend to overstate their influence in local races like this. This comes down to grassroots intensity. The thousands of volunteers and organizers, so much of it led by women ...it's that kind of grassroots energy that will carry us to victory on June 20.

Way to pivot from Trump to Democratic women organizers, Jon Ossoff!

And Ossoff's opponent, Karen Handel, says she welcomes Trump's support and willingness to campaign for her? Really? (You gotta hand it to Driftglass -- his coverage of that nugget gets the prize for Best Title of the Day.)

Let's see how Karen Handel's family values platform holds up after a state visit from Mister P*ssy Grabber Tic-Tac Chomper.

And watch out Jon. As Secretary of State for Georgia 2009-11, Handel was notorious for purging voter rolls until the Obama administration stopped her. Her ilk won't have such problems under this so-called President.
Both Paul Ryan and Tom Perez plan to campaign for the local candidates Karen Handel and Jon Ossoff respectively.