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Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.
Tuesday’s special Congressional election in Georgia’s Sixth District — north of Atlanta — is now the most expensive in the history of the United States House of Representatives, coming in with a whopping estimated price tag of $40 – $50 million, and eclipsing the past record of $24.4 million spent on a 2012 House race in Florida, according to CNN Politics, FOX News Politics and ABC’s Good Morning America.
Georgia’s 6th District has been in Republican control for 40 years. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich once held that seat. This election has turned into a referendum over the controversial President Donald Trump.
Local election polls show Georgia’s former Republican Secretary-of-State Karen Handel and first-time candidate Democrat Jon Ossoff, 30, are neck-and-neck at 47-percent each. Another poll shows Ossoff ahead by 3, according to Real Clear Politics. This special election is to replace Republican Tom Price who was appointed by President Donald Trump as Health and Human Services Secretary — a cabinet position.
This election is being closely watched by Democrats and Republicans who see it as a thermometer of public sentiment — at this point in time — measuring the acceptance of President Trump and his ‘Agenda For America.’ Both political parties are obviously investing heavily in this race the outcome of which may be a sign of things to come.
Two other recent special Congressional elections have been held; one to replace President Trump’s Interior Secretary from Montana and the other in Minnesota’s House District 32B whose congressman had to be replaced because their Supreme Court ruled the incumbent did not live in his district and was ineligible to hold the office. Both races produced Republican winners.
The Democrats are desperate for a U.S. House win and they are pouring money into this race, but here too, news reports say that Democratic candidate Ossoff does not live in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District — a fact apparently being overlooked — but Tuesday’s election will tell the tale if voters accept this out-of-district situation, as apparently local and federal election laws allow it.
In a special email plea for money, entitled ‘Georgia or BUST!,’ sent by Republican Gingrich, he warned that a win for the Democrats would send the wrong message.
“Tuesday there’s a special election in my home state of Georgia and elitist forces are spending historic amounts to try and buy an electoral victory in a district President Trump previously won with his America First agenda,” said Gingrich. “If we do not band together to fight back immediately, this could be the upset the Establishment is desperately hoping will turn the tides.”
One reason this election has become so costly is that the 6th District borders Atlanta to the north and it’s covered by the Atlanta TV-media market, the 10th most expensive media market in the USA, also including the massive amount of political junk mail being generated. This media market is about to rake in about $40 million or more on this race alone. That’s a lot of money to be elected as one of 435 representatives to the U.S. House for a two-year term in Washington and get a starting pay of $174,000 per year. News reports say Ossoff raised much more money than Handel, because outside political-action committees have donated more than 90-percent of all Ossoff’s total campaign contributions in an effort to stem the tide of Republican Congressional wins, according to Real Clear Politics.
Each and every U.S. House seat is vital to President Trump’s passage of his ‘Agenda For America.’ As of June 6, 2017 — the Republicans control the U.S. House with 238 members, while the Democrats have 193 seats with 4 vacancies, according to BallotPedia.com.
Both of the election polls mentioned above were conducted before the “baseball shooter” took aim at Republicans last week in Washington which left U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise critically injured along with several others during a practice session for the annual charity Congressional Baseball Game –which has been a tradition since 1909. The shooter was killed by two capitol police officers, who were also wounded.
This politically-motived mass shooting has ignited a new patriotic spirit of working together in Washington instead of the constant bickering, finger pointing and endless investigations concerning the Russian campaign influence and their shadowy, boogie-man cast of characters.
A striking photograph emerged on social media, but not much on main stream media, showing Congressmen from both parties praying together before the game on bended knee on the baseball field at second base right where Scalise was shot. Democrats won the game and then placed their trophy in Republican Scalise’s office for safe keeping until he returns. How cool is that?
How Georgia votes will tell if — a deranged man shooting at DC lawmakers with an assault rifle — will have any effect upon Tuesday’s $40 to $50 million-dollar special election. But it might.
About the Author
Britt Nelson relocated to Costa Rica in 2011 from Florida, where he served as news editor for the Palatka Daily News, a newspaper owned by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (NYT-RNG) for 20 years.
Nelson served the NYT-RNG for 18 years in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida as a correspondent, reporter, staff writer, senior staff writer training new reporters, copy editor, page designer, editorial writer, editorial page editor and editorial board member.
