There's a tsunami headed for Trump and the GOP

Why 2018 will be a wave election — and what it means for the president

It's coming.
(Image credit: Jo Empson / Alamy Stock Photo)

Democrat Jon Ossoff came tantalizingly close to winning the "jungle primary" in Georgia's 6th district on Tuesday. Because he fell two points short of an outright majority, he'll now face Republican Karen Handel in a runoff for the seat vacated by Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price. Democrats want to take the almost-victory (which could still turn out to be a victory) as a sign of things to come, while Republicans want to believe that everything is going to be fine for them. Given that special elections don't necessarily prove much (and a movement of a couple of points in one direction or the other certainly doesn't), what are the chances that there will be a genuine "wave" election in 2018?

This is an important question.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.