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04/18/2017 07:49 AM EDT


By Heather Caygle (hcaygle@politico.com or @heatherscope)

With an assist from Daniel Lippman

GEORGIA ON EVERYBODY'S MIND - Welcome to decision day in Georgia's 6th District. Democratic frontrunner Jon Ossoff is hoping to win more than 50 percent of the vote, securing an outright victory and flipping a seat that's been in Republican hands since the 1970s. The more likely outcome is Ossoff heading to a June runoff against one of the 11 Republicans in the contest.

Stats: Tom Price won reelection in November by 24 points while President Donald Trump only carried the district by two points.

Democrats nationwide "have rallied for Ossoff as Republicans have clawed at one another," Robert Costa reports from Chamblee, Ga., "contributing millions to his insurgent bid and watching him soar to the top of several polls - and salivating at the prospect of picking up a seat that hasn't gone blue since Georgia's own Jimmy Carter occupied the Oval Office."

"Having 11 people on our side is like eating our young," Sen. David Perdue, a Trump ally, told Costa Monday. "You risk letting the Democrat slide through without a runoff. But I don't think that will happen if we get the turnout." The Washington Post: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=144ba28a48999ad579262d080f46480918eeabf7f029c1fd4d2a79d280d8fd12d414344dd9355bff7a471c832c4ae9d5

Trump has spent Monday and this morning attacking Ossoff via Twitter and downplaying the outcome of today's vote. "With eleven Republican candidates running in Georgia (on Tuesday) for Congress, a runoff will be a win. Vote "R" for lower taxes & safety!" he tweeted Monday night.

The president recorded a robocall claiming Ossoff, as part of "Nancy Pelosi's group," only wants to "raise your taxes, destroy your health care and flood our country with illegal immigrants." And his Georgia campaign chair gave a last-minute endorsement to Karen Handel Monday, the AJC reports. Sen. Marco Rubio, meanwhile, recorded his own robocall backing a different GOP candidate in the crowded race-Judson Hill.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR TODAY, via the AJC's Greg Bluestein- Turnout: "Nearly 55,000 voters have already cast ballots ... [but] analysts studying early-voting patterns say a tremendous amount of Republican-leaning voters have yet to cast ballots."

-Changing the electorate: Ossoff's campaign raised an eye-popping amount of money, allowing them to target far beyond the small base of traditional Democrats. Will those folks show up and vote?

-The Trump impact: "A handful of Republican candidates have hinged their campaigns almost entirely on their support for the president," Bluestein reports. How will that factor into today's race? Much more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=144ba28a48999ad5e9e96c682e06d387eeb1d2d1e004b33a4b9614a4313bb6250580cf0511f90bc7f1d04cd81728ab48

HOLLYWOOD SEIZES ON GEORGIA RACE - Tinseltown, itching for a fight with the Trump administration, has also latched onto the Georgia race. "Many of the entertainment world's liberal, politically active celebrities have showered Jon Ossoff ... with cash and campaign assistance - a harbinger, some of them say, of a sustained revolt against the president's agenda," Gabriel Debenedetti reports this morning. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=144ba28a48999ad52baa4e7d33c045e3b5b363629813f37099274bff467d16ee9bb2514d7b6d6504ea1381153d3fd186

TRUMP MIA ON TOP SECURITY POST - Trump centered his campaign around pinning the 2012 Benghazi attacks to Hillary Clinton. But now, nearly 100 days in the White House, he has yet to nominate someone to the State Department post overseeing diplomatic security abroad.

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"Congressional Democrats say it's a striking omission that shows Trump's campaign rhetoric was just that. And even some Republicans are urging Trump to move faster to fill this and other key State Department posts," Austin reports. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=144ba28a48999ad55d417c53f70e37d84aa5dc7e8dacd0449d78606c8f69fd7826ba5472d7432b9516f9b7269443a74e

WELCOME TO NATIONAL ANIMAL CRACKERS DAY. It's Tuesday, April 18. Thanks for reading POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill.

MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution story about Republicans trying (and seemingly failing) to unite against Jon Ossoff was the winner.

GOP SENATORS FACE ROWDY TOWN HALLS - Sen. Tom Cotton got an earful from constituents Monday, enduring 90 minutes of boos and the occasional cheer as he took questions on everything from Trump's tax returns to the GOP Obamacare repeal. Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, up for reelection in 2018, also faced a rowdy crowd on Monday.

Heller and Cotton both promised to continue supporting their states' Medicaid expansions. "Heller, however, drew anger from some constituents for insisting that he remains a supporter of Planned Parenthood despite his vote for a deregulatory measure that would allow states to yank federal funding from the organization." Kelsey Sutton and Elana with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=144ba28a48999ad5a1796876e5ec029e452f5dbcda9d947ace9469a82e3cdf868cc218f46f6934df97e202e3328a3b56

MAXINE'S MOMENT TO SHINE - Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters is having a moment, being embraced by Millennials and media outlets beyond the Beltway (Yahoo Style, BET, Elle) for her sassy, keeping-it-real style. Waters, at first puzzled by the attention, has now embraced the spotlight and even the "Auntie Maxine" moniker she's been given.

"We have to stop his ass," she said about Trump to a packed house at Busboys and Poets Friday. "Auntie, Auntie, Auntie, Auntie!" the crowd chanted in response. CNN's Nia-Malika Henderson with the story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4f3b287e891c6e9ef822e3ee463ae8a7af0325789fbf337de9b97a64d926f383ed5cc49478cdca4582b0b6f308921fa6

COMING ATTRACTIONS - Sen. Bernie Sanders will campaign with Rob Quist, the Democratic candidate for Montana's at-large House seat. "Quist's campaign manager Tina Olechowski said Monday that Sanders is expected to be in the state next month, but the dates and locations of the campaign stops haven't been determined," the AP reports. The election is May 25. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4f3b287e891c6e9e818f8359d2fed71055282e4663fa80f4930e5f1293aaa411896a97229a88c7b6544245503ac0708b

TELL US SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW - Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin admitted the obvious Monday: the administration's ambitious August deadline for tax reform just isn't going to happen. Mnuchin told the Financial Times that the timeline is "highly aggressive to not realistic at this point," although he did say he still expects to complete an overhaul by the end of this year. Toby Eckert with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4f3b287e891c6e9efbc4c8151f68e558aa1b208a6376e622101c5beec92db8d0392c25d20102f005f3d5b97be5fc9901

Another complication: Democrats are vowing not to work with Republicans on tax reform until Trump releases his tax returns, something he's shown no intention of doing. More than a dozen Republicans have also said Trump should release his returns. Alan Rappeport with the New York Times: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4f3b287e891c6e9e86b6d3fb51d792cd0614a371f94ab8166697a301318599990c2e5486e11538a3bbe21cb5a42ceee1

QUOTE DU JOUR: "Did you see the movie Up? Donald Trump is the guy [actually, it was a dog] who yells 'Squirrel!' and everybody runs off in another direction. We cannot engage Donald Trump on every crazy 3 AM tweet," the generally press-averse Sen. Elizabeth Warren told USA Today's Susan Page during an interview in her Cambridge home.

By the way, your Huddle host checked in with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office after Warren told the Boston Globe he won't speak to her following their Senate floor kerfuffle in February. "The leader has spoken with her several times," Don Stewart, aide to McConnell, told Huddle via email. Asked for clarification, Stewart said he wouldn't call them conversations but the two have exchanged pleasantries.

YOU LIKE ME, YOU REALLY LIKE ME - Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been castigated in Washington for her defense of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, with some Democrats even calling for a primary opponent. But back home in Honolulu it's a different story. "Gabbard was greeted with cheers and applause from roughly 400 constituents at a town hall on Oahu Saturday, with just a few exceptions," BuzzFeed's Michelle Broder Van Dyke reports.

"Although Gabbard's constituents expressed concern that she met with Assad in secret earlier this year, it wasn't necessarily a deal breaker for those at the town hall." More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=4f3b287e891c6e9e7a49431f1aac8a3cf36ea8239692c61720e1358943cabbed5b6867aad9b52f5a1b8e8dc4a2895928

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House and Senate are out.

OFF THE HILL - Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin will be handing out free $10 Metro cards at the Silver Spring station this morning starting at 7:30 a.m. A press briefing with Raskin starts at 8 a.m.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer holds a 10:30 a.m. conference call on Trump's "failure" to support American workers. At the same time, Trump will be headed to Milwaukee, Wis., to highlight efforts by his administration to promote American products and workers.

Rep. John Lewis and Apple CEO Tim Cook attend the 2017 Freedom of Expression Awards at the Newseum, starting at 7:30 p.m.

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Mike Gula was the first to guess that Ulysses S. Grant, before becoming president, is believed to have pawned his watch for $22 to buy Christmas presents for his family.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Mike with today's question: How many U.S. presidents have been sworn in by a woman and who are they? The first person to correctly answer gets a shout out in tomorrow's Huddle. And don't forget, send suggestions for trivia questions my way: hcaygle@politico.com

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