Mayor Tomlinson appears on MSNBC show ‘AM Joy’

Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson made an appearance Sunday morning on the MSNBC television show “AM Joy.”

On the national broadcast with host Joy Reid, she discussed the Georgia 6th Congressional District race which, following a special election, has come down to a runoff between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel.

Ossoff and Handel are vying to replace Republican Tom Price, who was recently confirmed as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.

In the special election, Ossoff received 48.1 percent of the vote while Handel received 19.8 percent.

Tomlinson likes Ossoff’s chances, stating that Ossoff carried 200 precincts and Handel just eight. Tomlinson said “that is a pretty heavy lift for her.”

The mayor said while Republicans did get 52 percent of the vote in the special election, she wanted to point out 81 percent of those coming to the polls voted against Handel.

Tomlinson said while it is historically true that the district is predominately Republican, there are a lot of “business Republicans” who are moderate.

“It is not a heavy ideological district,” said Tomlinson, 52, who was raised in the district and has family there.

She said support from President Donald Trump and the Freedom Caucus might hurt Handel with moderate Republicans.

She said there is obviously a lot of interest in the race, with about 193,000 voters coming to the polls.

“For a special election, that is extraordinary,” she said.

Many have put the label of progressive on Ossoff. Tomlinson was questioned about that.

Tomlinson believes the candidate is progressive on women’s issues and health issues but is quite moderate on jobs, security and economic issues, and is against raising taxes.

When the show’s host suggested Tomlinson might want to run for higher office such as governor sometime in the future, Tomlinson replied, “You’re very kind.”

Reid said if Tomlinson decides to “change your job down there in Georgia,” she is welcome to make the announcement on the show.

Earlier this month, Tomlinson told Ledger-Enquirer reporter Chuck Williams that she is considering a possible run for statewide office in 2018 after being approached by state officials and those affiliated with the national Democratic Party. She said she had been asked to consider runs for governor, attorney general and secretary of state as a Democrat.

This story was originally published April 23, 2017 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Mayor Tomlinson appears on MSNBC show ‘AM Joy’."