Jon Ossoff

By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 9, 2017

The Georgia special election in which Democrat Jon Ossoff seeks to nab a solid Republican House seat will be the most expensive Congressional race in history, Politico reported Saturday.

Ossoff, a former Congressional staffer and documentary producer, has received heavy nationwide support. So has his opponent, former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, whom he faces in a June runoff.

According to Politico, spending by the two candidates and their supporters will blast past the previous record for a Congressional race, a $29.6 million benchmark set in 2012. That number has been exceeded in Georgia just by the cost of booking TV airtime, only one of the ways in which campaign budgets can rise. Other costs include radio ads, mailings and get-out-the-vote efforts.

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“It’s entirely possible that by the time the books are closed on this race, there will be over $40 million spent in the special and in the runoff,” Republican strategist Chip Lake told Politico.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

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