Georgia vote tests Trump’s popularity
Republicans hold House seat after closely fought race that foreshadowed midterm battle
DUNWOODY, GA.— Republican Karen Handel won a closely watched congressional election in Georgia on Tuesday, avoiding an upset that would have rocked Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Incomplete returns showed Handel winning almost 53 per cent of the vote over Democrat Jon Ossoff, who won about just over 47 per cent in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. That margin allows Republicans a sigh of relief after what’s being recognized as the most expensive House race in U.S history, with a price tag that may exceed $50 million (U.S.). U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to Handel on her “big win,” saying “we are all very proud of you.”
In remarks to supporters, Handel thanked Trump and also referenced the recent shooting of Republican House majority whip Steve Scalise, who was wounded when a gunman sprayed rifle fire on a baseball field where members of Congress were practising for a charity game.
The shooter had railed against Trump on social media. Handel said “we need to continue to lift up this nation so that we can find a more civil way to deal with our disagreements.”
Ossoff said his supporters served as a “beacon of hope” for people around the world as he ran for a U.S. House seat that has been in Republican hands since 1979.
Ossoff says that while it wasn’t the outcome he and others were hoping for, “this is the beginning of something much bigger than us.” He added later: “The fight goes on.”
The closely fought race offered Republicans a warning that Trump’s tenuous standing will dominate the looming campaign cycle. Georgia’s outcome follows similar results in Montana, Kansas and South Carolina, where Republicans won special House races by much narrower margins than they managed as recently as November.
Republicans immediately crowed over winning a seat that Democrats spent $30 million trying to flip. “Democrats from coast to coast threw everything they had at this race, and Karen would not be defeated,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement.
Democrats still must flip 24 GOPheld seats to regain a House majority next November. Party leaders profess encouragement from the trends, but the latest losses mean they will have to rally donors and volunteers after a tough stretch of special elections.
Handel, 55, becomes the latest in a line of Republicans who have represented the district since 1979, beginning with Newt Gingrich, who would become House Speaker. Most recently, Tom Price resigned the post in February to join Trump’s administration as health and human services secretary.
The president himself struggled here, though, edging Democrat Hillary Clinton but falling short of a majority among an affluent, well-ed- ucated electorate that typically has given Republican nominees better than 60 per cent of the vote.
Republican Ralph Norman also won a special election Tuesday to fill the South Carolina congressional seat vacated by Mick Mulvaney, battling to a victory closer than many expected to replace the new White House budget director.
Normandefeated Democrat Archie Parnell with 51 per cent of the vote, with 99 per cent of precincts reporting. Parnell had roughly 48 per cent of the vote.