Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) won an easy re-election victory on Tuesday evening, according to Decision Desk and NBC News, notching a win in Democrats’ efforts to fight for control of the U.S. Senate.
Georgia’s Senate race pitted Ossoff against Republican Rep. Mike Collins in a state that has become one of the country’s most closely watched battlegrounds. Ossoff was the Democrats’ lone incumbent in a state Republicans had hoped to flip, and Collins sought to unseat him. A Daily Beast chart of Senate races listed the contest as a toss-up, and Democrats needed a net gain of four seats nationally to take control of the chamber.
Both parties invested heavily early in the cycle. The GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund spent $35 million on TV ads in Georgia and North Carolina before pulling out to shore up incumbents in Kansas, South Carolina and Mississippi, according to reporting on the parties’ spending decisions. Democrats also wound down their spending there, since each side tracks the other’s.
Election administration drew attention throughout the fall. Democracy Docket reported that early voting began under intense scrutiny from the White House and Republicans.
The Justice Department’s election monitors were reportedly headed to Bibb, Chatham, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties. A lawsuit filed Oct. 27 alleged nearly 2,900 voters in Cobb County had not received requested absentee ballots and blamed a New York-based vendor, Fort Orange Press, which also served Gwinnett and DeKalb. Those claims are the plaintiff’s allegations, and Democracy Docket disclosed that the plaintiff’s law firm was founded by its own founder.
Turnout was a focus in the final days. Nate Silver said early voting data showed Democratic enthusiasm in Texas and Georgia, with Democrats slightly ahead among infrequent voters, according to the Daily Beast’s account. CNN’s forecast called for dry weather in Georgia on Election Day, with highs in the 70s and low 80s.
Ossoff’s reelection kept a closely watched seat in Democratic hands and helped Democrats in their bid for Senate control.
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