The Democratic National Committee will hire 10 new field staffers to target tens of thousands of minority voters who didn’t cast ballots in last month’s special election to represent metro Atlanta’s conservative-leaning suburbs.
The DNC’s decision reflects the party’s multipronged approach to boost Democrat Jon Ossoff’s campaign for the 6th District. Even as he aims to appeal to moderate and independent voters to defeat Republican Karen Handel, the party is also targeting minority voters who have long been its most solid bloc of supporters.
Democrats are looking for every edge they can get in the June 20 runoff to represent the district, which spans from east Cobb to north DeKalb. The seat has long been held by Republicans, but Donald Trump’s struggles in the territory have Democrats hoping to land a major upset.
The DNC’s initiative will target nearly 80,000 registered voters in the district, including about 48,000 black residents, 18,000 Asian-American voters and 12,000 Latinos. DNC chair Tom Perez said those voters “have been at the heart of the resistance” to Trump and will be at the center of Ossoff’s campaign.
“Jon Ossoff is in a strong position to win next month, and Democrats will continue to make gains in Georgia, because we’re working to talk to every single voter in this district by every possible means and leaving no stone untouched,” said Perez.
The race has become a costly proxy fight between national Republicans and Democrats and a dry run for the 2018 midterms. The parties, outside groups and candidates have poured more than $30 million into the race, making it the most expensive U.S. House contest on record.
Two other Democratic groups said Thursday they were sending in reinforcements to help Ossoff. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put a “significant” six-figure buy behind a new attack ad, and a super PAC with ties to House Democrats said it will pump $700,000 into TV airtime and get-out-the-vote efforts.
Handel has had plenty of backup as well. Republicans groups have spent more than $8 million on an ad blitz since her second-place finish in the April 18 vote and hired more than 100 field operatives to fan out across the district.
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