There’s more at stake in the upcoming June 20 Georgia House seat runoff than who wins, Democrat Jon Ossoff or Republican Karen Handel.
A GOP victory would extend the record of 19 consecutive special elections where a party kept control of the open seat. The Georgia seat was opened when Republican Rep. Tom Price resigned to become secretary of health and human services.
Predict It users are betting on Handel win.
The last special election to flip a seat was in 2012, and that streak matched another in 1941, according to University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs “Smart Politics” expert Eric Ostermeier.
Democrats believe that Ossoff can snap the streak. In last week’s special election, he fell just shy of a 50 percent victory with 48.1 percent of the vote. Handel got just 19.8 percent, but Republicans won a total of 50 percent of the vote.
Political bettors are also weighing in. The latest line on Predict It has Handel winning big.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
