The Georgia primary on Tuesday to replace Tom Price was more a referendum on President Trump than it was a statement about the candidates, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole said Wednesday.
Cole said on CNN that the vote was a cathartic act for Democrats, who nearly sent Jon Ossoff to Congress with 48 percent of the vote despite the fact that he doesn’t live in the 6th District and is a political novice.
“It tells me first this race was much more about the president than it was about any of the candidates,” Cole said.
The Georgia 6th Congressional District primary included candidates from all parties and a candidate would have needed 50 percent of the vote to win the seat. Ossoff came close but is now going to face a tough race against Republican Karen Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, which culminates in a June 20 vote.
Cole said Republicans just needed to get through Tuesday’s vote in order to try and win in June.
“We needed everything to go right last night and, frankly, it did,” Cole said. “And, the president was a big part of that.”
If Republicans can hold on to Price’s old seat, which he vacated to take on the role of secretary of health and human services, then it’s a sign to Democrats that the anti-Trump movement that’s kicked up in the wake of the election isn’t going to translate into political power.
“This is the kind of seat Democrats would and should focus on, and where they need to win,” Cole said.
