Trump: ‘Runoff will be a win’ in Georgia special election

President Trump said late Monday that a runoff in Georgia’s special congressional election Tuesday would be considered a win.

With eleven Republican candidates running in Georgia (on Tuesday) for Congress, a runoff will be a win. Vote “R” for lower taxes & safety!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2017

Trump’s tweet was his second Monday concerning the Tuesday election in Georgia to fill the seat vacated by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

{mosads}The president also recorded a robocall Monday urging Georgia’s voters to defeat Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff there.

“[He will] raise your taxes, destroy your healthcare, and flood our country with illegal immigrants,” Trump said in the call.

“Liberal Democrats from outside Georgia are spending millions and millions of dollars trying to take your Republican congressional seat away from you. Don’t let them do it.”

Georgia is holding an all-party special election in which any candidate can win the seat outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote.

If no candidate reaches that threshold on Tuesday, there will be a runoff between the top two finishers in June.

Time magazine’s White House correspondent said Monday that Trump’s late-night tweet calling a runoff a win may be a sign of the GOP working to lower expectations.  

Talk about lowering expectations… https://t.co/UX9hvNgxvJ

— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) April 18, 2017

And a producer for MSNBC’s “The Last Word” said the runoff tweet shows there’s “some concern” among the party’s members about the outcome. 

This is Trump’s second tweet today about the GA-06 election.

He also recorded a robocall.

Seems to be some concern among Republicans. https://t.co/ORiuEHHw8P

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 18, 2017

Price, a Republican, won reelection in 2016 in the conservative district by more than 20 points before joining Trump’s administration.

Democrats have painted the race as a referendum on Trump and his administration’s policies, with the party hoping to turn the reliably red Georgia seat blue this year.

Ossoff is the clear Democratic favorite there, with experts predicting his best chance at victory is Tuesday should voters fail to coalesce around a single Republican in the crowded field.

Ossoff is leading the polls with about 43 percent to GOP candidate Karen Handel’s 17 percent, according to the Huffington Post poll last updated on Saturday.