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Republican voters in Georgias special election have caught up to the hefty advantage that Democrats built in early voting, according to two elections analyses, and are poised to take the lead on Friday.

Democrat Jon Ossoffs campaign for the suburban Atlanta district was buoyed by early numbers that gave left-leaning voters a sizable lead in the early voting. But thats all but vanished as the Tuesday election nears and more early voting sites open.

One reason the Democratic voter numbers may have stalled: While Democrats appeared to quickly consolidate around Ossoff, the leading contender of five Democrats on the ballot, Republicans may have taken longer to choose between the 11 GOP contenders on the ballot.

Nate Cohn, the New York Times polling expert, tweeted that roughly 42 percent of the 46,000 or so early ballots cast are from Democratic-leaning voters, while Republican-leaning voters have cast 41 percent of the ballots. He predicted Republicans will take the lead on Friday, the final day of early voting.

Thats in line with the analysis of Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political scientists who also crunched the numbers.

The early voting numbers are far from fool-proof, but they are considered an indicator of voter enthusiasm. And they could complicate Ossoffs goal of winning the race outright on Tuesday by getting a majority of the vote. In the mid-40s in most of the polls, the Democrat hopes a late push can close the gap.

Ossoff told students at Georgia Tech on Thursday that his internal polling and early voting numbers show the race still give him an opening to win the 18-candidate race outright on Tuesday and avoid a head-to-head matchup against a Republican on June 20.

The early voting numbers and our internal polling continue to demonstrate that this is winnable on Tuesday, he said, but its only winnable if we sprint through the finish line with more intensity, more passion and less sleep than any other campaign out there.

More AJC coverage of the Sixth District race:

Nearly $14M in ads have flooded Georgias Sixth for special election

Ossoff pulls in record donations for Georgia special election

Georgia Democrats, Republicans seek lessons in tight Kansas race

With Ossoff at the gates, Republicans try to fortify Georgias Sixth

Ossoff fights top-secret attacks in Georgia special election

Staff raids and social media hijinks: GOP infighting ramps up in Georgia Sixth In the final week, Karen Handel becomes a target for GOP rivals

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Link:
Republicans catch up to Democrats in Georgia special election early voting - Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)