When Georgia’s voters go the polls today to decide between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican candidate Karen Handel, the media would have you to believe the balance of power in the nation is at stake.  Numerous articles have been written about what a victory by either candidate would mean to both major political parties in the US, and some even go as far as claiming the race is a precursor of the 2018 mid-term elections.

Both parties have invested an inordinate amount of money, talent and resources, to sway the voters, as if they also believe the fortunes of the country will turn on the outcome.  But is anything really going to change no matter which way the race turns out?

It would be a bit of a moral victory for the Democrats.  The seat has traditionally been a stronghold for the Republican Party, and a takeaway by the Dems may signal to some that support for Trump is wavering.  But, still, it is just one seat and these things have a way of leaning towards the popularity (or unpopularity) of a particular candidate.

Should the Republicans hold the seat, will the message be that Trump is on the right track, or simply that more of Georgia’s 6^th Congressional District’s voters are closer to the right than the left?  The outcome of one race can hardly be a predictor of things to come in 2018.

I doubt though that you will realize that after the smoke clears and the results are finalized.  Mostly left-leaning media outlets will champion a Dem victory as if Trump’s presidency is over, and conversely, downplay a Republican win as expected.

House Republicans are supposedly watching the outcome carefully because it may give them an indication of how the nation is leaning on the job that the House and Senate are doing, according to some news sources.  How that temperament is gauged by the one percent of voters in Georgia Six is representative of the voters in the other 99 percent of the country is baffling to me.  I feel certain voters on the west coast would not likely give the current congress the same grade as the voters in that lone district.

But, if you pay attention to the news, you are being led to believe that the fate of any of the promises made by Republican candidates, such as repealing and replacing Obamacare, or reducing tax rates, will be determined by this small group of voters.  A loss by the GOP will scare many current House and Senate members into dropping their support for those initiatives, say some pundits.

Failing to act on the promises made during the campaigns will probably do more damage than any single district outcome in any congressional race.

As to the Democratic Party, they face a bit of an issue even if Ossoff wins.  Ossoff’s campaign has mostly avoided the more controversial side of the party, taking a moderate Democrat position.  Whether this will play well with the party’s growing base of Bernie Sanders-type progressives may not tell the party officials in which direction then need to move.

In either case, it is only one Congressional District, and the fortunes of either party will hinge more on what happens between now and November 2018 that the outcome of this race.  Just remember that tomorrow when the sky is falling on either the Republicans or the Democrats in the news media.  It’s probably not as bad as it seems.