GOP chair says Scalise shooting will lead to Republican victory in Georgia's 6th District

Impact

A GOP chairman in Georgia thinks last week's shooting at a Congressional baseball game practice in Alexandria, Virginia., will help push Republican nominee Karen Handel to victory in Georgia's 6th District special election Tuesday.

Brad Carver, a Republican Party chairman in a neighboring congressional district, told the Washington Post that the shooting that left Rep. Steve Scalise seriously wounded, will help "decide the election" for Handel.

"I’ll tell you what: I think the shooting is going to win this election for us" Carver told the Washington Post at a rally for Handel. "Because moderates and independents in this district are tired of left-wing extremism. I get that there’s extremists on both sides, but we are not seeing them. We’re seeing absolute resistance to everything this president does. Moderates and independents out there want to give him a chance. Democrats have never given this president a chance."

It wasn't the first time that groups supporting Handel used the shooting to try and carry her to victory in the high-stakes election, which polling shows is neck and neck between Handel and Ossoff.

An ad from a Principled PAC says "the unhinged left is endorsing and applauding shooting Republicans" — a claim not backed by any facts. In fact, the shooting had the left and right condemning the heated political rhetoric that's paralyzed government.

"When will it stop?" The narrator in the ad says. "It won’t if Jon Ossoff wins on Tuesday, because the same unhinged leftists cheering last week’s shooting are all backing Jon Ossoff. And if he wins, they win."

Both Handel and Ossoff denounced the ad.