There was no mention of Donald Trump laced into Democrat Jon Ossoff's election-eve pep rally. Nor was there an overt attack aimed at Republican Karen Handel, his opponent in Tuesday's blockbuster Georgia 6th District vote.
Instead, Ossoff stuck to a familiar theme in his closing argument to hundreds of supporters who crammed into his Roswell office.
"We are going to show those cynics in Washington, D.C. who have been peddling hate and fear and deception for months in this state that they cannot come in here and scare and intimidate us," he said.
Ossoff, a 30-year-old former congressional aide, is locked in a tight race with Republican Karen Handel to represent the suburban Atlanta district. And he's tried to walk a fine line as he tries to mobilize liberals while also not turning off GOP voters he's trying to woo.
Both parties are desperate to win a vote that's seen as an early test for Donald Trump's popularity and a dry run for how Democrats can compete in fast-changing suburban districts. The race has cost more than $50 million, making it by far the most expensive U.S. House contest in history.
Ossoff used his 5-minute appearance at the event to thank "grassroots power" and the volunteers who helped his campaign.
"We are going to outwork, out-hustle, out-fight, out-canvass, out-knock, out-call," he said. "We are going to win tomorrow."
Read more on MyAJC: What to watch in the race for Georgia's 6th District
More recent AJC 6th District coverage:
National Democrats, Republicans both see 6th District as a must-win
Jon Ossoff: The making of a Georgia Democratic dynamo
Karen Handel: A ‘fighter’ returns to the political arena
First-timers get involved in 6th District get-out-the-vote effort
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