Republican win

US Republican Karen Handel won a nationally watched congressional election yesterday in Georgia, and she thanked President Donald Trump after she avoided an upset that would have rocked Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Returns showed Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, winning about 52 per cent of the vote over Democrat Jon Ossoff, who won nearly 48 per cent in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. Handel’s margin allows Republicans a sigh of relief after what’s being recognised as the most expensive House race in US history, with a price tag that may exceed US$50 million ($69m).