Democrats also continue to have trouble fielding candidates who connect with voters, and they need to better explain how they’re good for their districts, not just how Trump is bad for everyone.
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On June 20, Handel defeated Democrat candidate Jon Ossoff in a race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District seat.
As expected, Republicans also won a special election in the fifth congressional district of SC held to fill the seat vacated by budget director Mick Mulvaney. Thus, the perceived opening for the Democrats who came to the conclusion that the affluent suburban district could be flipped from red to blue.
Jon Ossoff’s defeat in Georgia’s special House election – an election Democrats hoped would have been a referendum on President Donald Trump – has renewed some soul searching among its members.
Democrats came close but still lost in special elections in Kansas, Montana, Georgia and SC.
Democrats are 0 for 4 in congressional elections this year, having earlier lost races to fill vacant seats in Kansas and Montana.
The Georgia loss sparked a quick reaction from Democrats.
Broton says one takeaway is finding candidates who better represent their district.
“We’re not focusing on the economic messages”.
About four hours by auto from Atlanta, South Carolina’s fifth congressional district was not considered a competitive race for Democrats.
The Democrats have become so delusional that former Attorney General Eric Holder is thinking about joining the other twoscore Democrats considering a presidential run in 2020.
In campaign ads and election flyers, Republicans successfully tied the policies and beliefs of newcomer Ossoff to House minority leader Pelosi. “If elected, I will not vote for Nancy Pelosi for speaker”.
But prescriptions for how the Democrats should move forward varied.
Heading into the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats need to pick up 24 House seats to take back the majority.
“Congratulations to Karen Handel on her big win in Georgia 6th”.
The Georgia election was seen as much closer, but last night’s results didn’t seem to bear that out.
Congressional Democrats have accused Republicans of shutting them out of the debate over issues such as healthcare and taxes.
Pelosi said the Democratic base is energised, adding, “We must now put forth our message”.
The storyline we’ll hear in the emotional aftermath of this election is that Democrats lost four straight special elections, despite months of a Republican president being mired in scandal and a Republican Congress playing hot potato with an unpopular health bill.
President Trump was quick to react to Handel’s victory. Republican Ralph Norman beat Democrat Archie Parnell by around 3 percentage points in SC, closer than expected and a warning sign to the GOP not to take any seat for granted.
“I’ve said from the very beginning that this race was and remained about the people of the 6th District”, said Handel.
And Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, remarked that “we had no business winning those districts” due to their GOP allegiance.
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Spending on the Georgia race reached at least $57 million, almost twice the previous record, according to the Center for Responsive Politics watchdog group.
