The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s 6th, 7th District contests are tests for Trump,
Democrats vying to unseat GOP reps draw outside cash.
Two competitive congressional races in Atlanta’s fast-changing northern suburbs were close as of late Tuesday evening.
Incumbent U.S. Reps. Karen Handel and Rob Woodall, both Republicans, were hoping to hold off well-funded Democratic opponents in Georgia’s 6th and 7th congressional districts, which stretch from east Cobb to Gwinnett County, but neither race was called as of press time.
Both contests were seen as tests of President Donald Trump’s popularity in wealthy Atlanta suburbs that had long been considered safe GOP territory but have been diversifying in recent years. Mitt Romney carried both districts by more than 20 percentage points in 2012, but Trump won each only by single digits four years later.
Handel and Woodall faced spirited challenges from Democratic political neophytes who were able to raise large amounts of money both inside and outside of Georgia.
Handel, R-Roswell, who is seeking her first full term in Congress, faced off against Lucy McBath, a gun control advocate who put her personal story at the center of her campaign. And Woodall, R-Lawrenceville, was challenged by Carolyn Bourdeaux, a Georgia State University professor who was motivated to run because of GOP efforts to unravel Obamacare.
Going into Tuesday’s vote, Republican operatives were particularly nervous about Woodall’s prospects. The four-term congressman did not spend much on social media and television advertising, and he struggled to keep up with Bourdeaux’s fundraising.
Woodall and Handel have both endorsed the president, but in recent months spent more time emphasizing the booming economy and their own Capitol Hill voting records than on their connections to Trump. Both skipped the president’s Macon rally for Republican Brian Kemp on Sunday.
Still, their Democratic opponents hammered them for sticking with the Trump, particularly on issues such as immigration, tariffs and gun rights. Bourdeaux and McBath also zeroed in on the incumbents’ support of the GOP’s Obamacare replacement plan and what it would mean for insurance coverage for patients with pre-existing conditions.
Neither race attracted the same kind of outside money and attention as last year’s 6th District special election between Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff, which inspired a record $60 million in spending. But McBath and Bourdeaux also proved to be formidable fundraisers, tapping into national networks that helped them outraise the incumbents, sometimes by as much as three to one.
Outside attention began ramping up in October as polls showed the races tightening, and Washington Republicans eventually entered the 6th District race with $1.4 million to shore up Handel’s reelection bid. But the biggest spender in both races was by far the liberal mega-donor Michael Bloomberg. Organizations tied to the former New York City billionaire spent roughly $4 million to elect McBath, a surrogate for the Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety, and nearly $1 million on Bourdeaux.
Democrats were also hopeful that excitement over Stacey Abrams could help provide McBath and Bourdeaux boosts in their House races.
An upset in either congressional race would be historic. Bourdeaux would become the first woman to represent the 7th District in Congress, and McBath the first person of color to win in the 6th. Handel became Georgia’s first Republican congresswoman when she was elected in June 2017.
Georgia’s 12 other incumbent congressmen were on track to get reelected on Tuesday, including Atlanta-area U.S. Reps. John Lewis, Hank Johnson, Barry Loudermilk and David Scott.