When Georgia congressman Tom Price was named Secretary of Health and Human Services, that opened up a congressional seat and called for a special election.
Democrats thought that the suburban Atlanta district, which went for Trump by a tiny margin, was winnable. They found an attractive candidate, Jon Ossoff, to run against the Republican Karen Handel and, with the help of out-of-state groups, poured $22 million into supporting him. Handel spent $14 million, making this the most expensive congressional race in history.
Democrats sought to turn the election into a referendum on Donald Trump and a herald of next year’s midterm elections.
Pollsters saw a close race. But when it was over, it wasn’t close at all. The Republican Handel won by 5 percentage points.
If this was a referendum on Trump, the voters are still supporting him. And if this is a foretaste of the midterm elections, Trump may be in better shape than his poll numbers suggest.
From Jacob Pramuk, Georgia election results: Karen Handel wins House special election, CNBC:
Republican Karen Handel has won Georgia’s record-breaking special congressional election, dashing hopes by Democrats to pull off an upset in the run-up to the 2018 midterm elections.
Seen as an early proxy for whether Democrats can flip certain Republican-leaning districts in the President Donald Trump era, Tuesday’s election drew national attention and record cash from around the country. Democrats have aimed to leverage Trump’s dismal approval rating and opposition to the Republican health-care bill into winning Republican seats and potentially taking control of the House in 2018.
The race for Georgia’s 6th District for the seat vacated by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price pitted Handel, 55, the former Georgia secretary of state, against Democrat Jon Ossoff, a 30-year old former congressional aide. Fueled by a rush of donors from around the U.S., Ossoff pushed for an upset in the suburban Atlanta district that Price repeatedly won easily.
He came up short, as Handel won by about 5 percentage points, according to incomplete returns.
The two campaigns and outside groups supporting and opposing the candidates shelled out at least $36 million as of May 31, including more than $22 million from Ossoff’s campaign. The election easily set a record for spending in a House race, according to NBC News.
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