Ossoff Victorious in Difficult Georgia Primary

In 2017, a young Democrat with no political experience named Jon Ossoff captured the attention of the nation when he ran in a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives, in a district in Georgia that had been Republican-controlled for nearly forty years. Ossoff very nearly won. A year later, in 2018, the district was won by a Democratic candidate. Now Ossoff is back in the spotlight, this time running for the U.S. Senate.

Last week, he won his primary election, meaning that he will face off against Republican Senator David Perdue in November. Here, Election Central takes a look at some of the circumstances surrounding Osoff’s win, as well as the challenges that many Georgia voters faced when casting their primary ballots last week.

A Twice-Delayed Primary

Primary elections across the country have experienced delays resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Georgia’s primary was originally scheduled to take place in early May, but was postponed twice due to the public’s efforts to control the spread of the virus.

Ossoff, who is only 33 years old, received just over 50 percent of the primary vote–far more than any of the other six Democratic candidates on the ballot. (Second place went to Teresa Tomlinson, the former mayor of Columbus, Georgia.) While Ossoff is still well-known nationally after his 2017 nail-biter race for the House, he faces criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike for his lack of experience. Ossoff has never held public office before, but political experts have indicated that the outcome of his November Senate race will “lean Republican.”

That might not sound promising for him, except that Georgia hasn’t had a Democratic U.S. Senator in twenty years. So the fact that the race “leans” Republican, rather than being a solid Republican lock, is being promoted as a major triumph by the Ossoff campaign.

What Happened in Georgia?

A greater problem that Ossoff and the voting public could face in Georgia is the potential for a difficult election day experience. Last Tuesday’s primary received national attention for its long lines and other logistical problems. Some voters in predominantly Democratic counties waited more than three hours to vote. Disproportionately affected were communities of color, where limited polling machines pushed the wait time into the five-hour range. Other polling places faced broken voting machines and inadequate supplies of paper or provisional ballots. In some cases, equipment was delivered late or to the wrong locations. Also, due to COVID-19 precautions, more than 10 percent of the polling places across Georgia have been moved or consolidated, primarily in urban areas and communities of color.

Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been accused by critics of trying to suppress the votes of Democrats. In response, Raffensperger has agreed to launch an investigation into what went wrong with last week’s primary, to avoid similar issues in November.

Dig Deeper If elected, Ossoff would be the youngest Senator since 1981. Who was elected to the Senate that year, and how old were they? Use Internet resources to help you figure out your answer.