Dem Falls Short of 50%, Georgia's 6th Heads to Runoff

Democrat Jon Ossoff narrowly failed to shock the GOP Tuesday with an outright victory in Georgia's special election—but he will get a second chance on June 20 when he faces Republican Karen Handel. CNN projects that Ossoff, a 30-year-old who was little-known before the 6th congressional district race, will fall just short of 50%, while Handel leads the 11 Republican candidates in the 18-candidate race. Handel came in a distant second to Ossoff but was well ahead of the other Republicans, reports the AP, which notes that technical difficulties in the election office could delay final results for some time.

An Ossoff victory in a district that has been Republican for decades would have been a major rebuke to President Trump, who targeted the Democrat in a series of tweets, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Despite major outside money, FAKE media support and eleven Republican candidates, BIG "R" win with runoff in Georgia," Trump tweeted after results came in. "Glad to be of help!" "There is no doubt that this is already a victory for the ages," whatever the final result, Ossoff told supporters Tuesday night. Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas said the swing away from the GOP in the district shows that "getting the 24 seats we need to take back the House is suddenly a real possibility." (More special election stories.)