AHCA vote may hand Democrats Georgia win
The Georgia 6th Congressional District special election to replace nowSecretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price was already looking like a referendum on President Donald Trump. With millions of dollars pouring into the race on both sides, the contest between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel seemed tailor-made to measure the demographic shifts in wealthy suburbs and the staying power of the Trump message.
This past week, the race became a referendum specifically on the America Health Care Act. Ossoff put out a statement after the House vote deploring the bill. "I strongly oppose this bill, which allows discrimination against Georgians with pre-existing conditions and would make health insurance unaffordable for millions of families," he said. "This bill puts Georgians' lives at risk. Congress should put aside partisan politics and work to make affordable insurance and quality care available to all Americans."
Handel did not even question the absence of a Congressional Budget Office score. Her office gave the Washington Examiner a statement: "Karen would have joined with the Republicans in the Georgia delegation in voting in favor of the bill. She believes that the status quo is unacceptable and that this legislation, while not perfect, represents just the first step in replacing Obamacare with patient-centered healthcare." Of note, she didn't bother to defend it on the merits. Had she been in the House, she would have been one more dutiful foot soldier for Trump.
Ossoff also got a big win in court this past week. The Associated Press reported:
"A federal judge on Thursday ordered Georgia officials to reopen voter registration in a suburban Atlanta congressional district ahead of a heated special election that's seen by many as a test of President Donald Trump's influence.
"U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten ruled in favor of civil rights advocacy groups who argued that Georgia violated federal law by preventing more new voter registrations before the June 20 runoff.
"Georgia had set the registration deadline on March 20, 30 days before the first round of voting in April. … Batten, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2005, ordered the state to extend the deadline to May 21 and to allow any district resident registered by that day to cast a ballot in the runoff."
Democrats were delighted with the result, which offered them the chance to find new voters in the wake of the health-care vote. (AP: "Emory University political science professor Alan Abramowitz said ... Republicans will be older, longtime residents and more likely to be registered already. Democrats can cultivate a growing number of Latino or Asian-American residents who have moved into the district in recent years but aren't yet registered.") In response to the ruling, Ossoff released a statement: "Voting rights are constitutional rights. I encourage all eligible voters to ensure that they are registered and make their voices heard on June 20th and in all elections, regardless of their party or political persuasion."
Meanwhile, Ossoff has reserved $5.2 million of TV and radio ad time, while Handel is relying in part on the president. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported:
"The former congressional aide reported raising more than $8.3 million through the end of March, but this ad buy suggests he's added millions more to that fundraising haul in the weeks since the last filing deadline.
"Handel's campaign, meanwhile, has taken in at least $1.75 million since she landed the No. 2 spot in the matchup — a total that includes about $750,000 from Donald Trump's visit on Friday (April 28). The Republican hasn't aired a TV ad since the election, but she's had ample backup.
"The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC with ties to Paul Ryan, said it was pouring in another $3.5 million into the contest and has already reserved nearly $3 million in ad time."
Handel seems to believe there is no risk in appearing with and supporting the president. Perhaps she is right, and sticking close to Trump is the only way to turn out regular GOP voters. If, however, voters are souring on Trump, then Ossoff may be the first but certainly not the last Democratic beneficiary of the anti-AHCA backlash.
Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Post.