Democrat Jon Ossoff fell below the 50 percent level needed to claim an outright win against a mass of opponents in a closely-watched special election on Tuesday in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, likely setting the stage for a runoff in June.
Ossoff sought to parlay opposition to President Donald Trump into a victory that would rebuke the White House and embolden Democrats ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
With 84 percent of 210 precincts reported, Ossoff was at 48.6 percent, according to a live election update on the New York Times site, below the majority threshold required to win the race outright. New York Times political writer Nate Cohn said there are mail-in ballots still to count, though not enough in his estimate to change the outcome.
The race now likely heads to a June 20 runoff, with Trump, who had called on voters to reject Ossoff, claiming credit in a tweet.
Republicans nationally and in Georgia acknowledged before polls opened that Ossoff would top the 18-candidate field, which included Republicans, Democrats and independents on one primary ballot.
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