The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Handel builds funds for re-election campaign
U.S. Rep. Karen Handel has about $430,000 left in her campaign coffers as she braces for what could be another grueling election bid to represent Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, according to campaign filing reports.
After a wider-than-expected victory over Democrat Jon Ossoff — winning the most expensive U.S. House election ever — the former Georgia secretary of state has hired top staff and readied her re-election bid. The filings show she raised a total of $6.3 million, which includes nearly $700,000 from PACs.
Ossoff ’s final campaign filing had not yet been posted, but through the end of May he had raised $23.6 million — an unprecedented total.
Campaign filings show spending in the race, which pitted 18 candidates competing to succeed Tom Price, pushed well past $50 million as it became a nationally watched proxy fight between Democrats and Republicans over Donald Trump, the health care overhaul and the battle for suburbia.
The June 20 runoff drew about 260,000 voters — an eye-popping turnout for this type of special election in Georgia that helped power Handel to a 4-point victory. Ossoff, 30, has not yet announced whether he’ll challenge Handel next year but said that he’s “not done fighting.”
Some other takeaways from the final filings from the other top Republicans:
■ Republican Dan Moody, a former state senator, wound up putting more than $3 million of his own money into his failed campaign for the seat. He raised an additional $130,000.
■ Republican Judson Hill, another former state senator, took in more than $640,000 in contributions – and lent his campaign an additional $160,000 from his bank account.
■ Republican Bob Gray, a former Johns Creek councilman, also dipped deep into his wallet, loaning his campaign $500,000 atop the $330,000 he raised.