Appearing as a panel member on Wednesday's New Day, left-leaning CNN political analyst and Daily Beast editor John Avlon tried to spin Democrat Jon Ossoff's defeat in Georgia as being because of a "rigged system of redistricting" that gave Republicans a "heavy advantage."
Avlon: "All the money in the world can't fight a plus nine Republican advantage. Folks got to remember there's a rigged system of redistricting in this country which means all districts are not created equal. Republicans were set up to have a heavy advantage in this district."
He did not mention that, in the 2016 presidential election, the 6th Congressional District was the most competitive district in the state, with Donald Trump only receiving 48.3 percent of the vote versus 46.8 percent for Hillary Clinton -- which is nothing like a nine percentage point advantage.
Shortly after 6:00 a.m. ET, after CNN correspondent Jason Carroll narrated a setup piece in which he described the special election outcome as a "major loss" for Democrats, co-host Chris Cuomo went to Avlon and asked his take on the election. The liberal analyst immediately tried to put the best face on for Democrats as he began:
First of all, all the money in the world can't fight a plus nine Republican advantage. Folks got to remember there's a rigged system of redistricting in this country which means all districts are not created equal. Republicans were set up to have a heavy advantage in this district. They ran a very experienced candidate who had statewide experience against a first-timer. And all that money and all that enthusiasm couldn't overcome those deficits.
He then further griped:
The other thing, Republicans successfully tied the candidate not only to, you know, who tried to campaign as a centrist, as some far-left millennial, but also to Nancy Pelosi. So there are deeper issues about turnout, about brand, and about that uphill climb folks have to succeed to bridge in order to win that kind of a district.
