WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Republican Karen Handel has won a closely contested special House election in Georgia, which was seen as an acid test for President Donald Trump's presidency.



Handel, who has been Georgia's Secretary of State, won 52.7 percent of the votes against her Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, who garnered 47.3.



The special election was called after Rep. Tom Price vacated the seat to become the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Federal Cabinet. 



Price had won re-election by more than 23 percentage points last November.



However, even a narrow victory by Handel is seen as a face-saver for Trump, and as a sign of support for his agenda. 



In South Carolina fifth district, Republican Ralph Norman beat Democrat Archie Parnell. Norman won by a surprisingly close 3-point margin in a solidly conservative area.



These wins protected Republicans' 24-seat majority in the House of Representatives.



With the President's approval rate at a low level, and the Government mired in controversy surrounding the Trump Campaign's Russian connection, Democrats had hoped to strike a blow against Trump's presidency.



Georgia's sixth district is a traditionally safe Republican forte, but the GOP had to spent a record-setting $50 million to retain a seat that looked to be slipping from the party.



Democrats too have been pumping money into the race, making it the most expensive congressional contest in history.



The House seat became a focus of Democrats nationwide rallying against Trump, pitting a political newcomer Jon Ossoff against the businesswoman-turned politician. 



Trump himself led the attack against Ossoff, claiming the documentary filmmaker and former congressional staffer wants to raise taxes and kill health care.



'Congratulations to Karen Handel on her big win in Georgia 6th. Fantastic job, we are all very proud of you,' Trump said on Twitter Wednesday.



Handel gave a special thanks to Trump in addition to thanking House Speaker Ryan, the House leadership and 'so many of the members across this country'.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX</s>Candidate Party Votes Pct. Handel Karen Handel Republican Rep. 134,595 51.9 % 259,488 votes, 100% reporting (208 of 208 precincts) U.S. House Map » Karen Handel, a Republican, defeated Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, in the most expensive U.S. House race in history. The election was largely seen as a referendum on the first months of Donald J. Trump’s presidency. Republicans maintain control of the seat, which was vacated by Tom Price, the new secretary of health and human services. Vote Margin By Precinct Vote margin Ossoff leads 30 20 10 Handel leads 10 20 30 Shift from April 18 Election Where and How Votes Were Cast County Rpt. Fulton 100 % Cobb 100 % DeKalb 100 % Early votes Election Day votes

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Estimated Percentage of Votes Counted</s>Republican Karen Handel won a hotly contested Georgia congressional race on Tuesday, fending off a Democratic challenge in a race that was widely seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump.

With two-thirds of the vote tallied, Handel led by 53 percent to 47 percent and media outlets predicted she would win.

The former Georgia secretary of state defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff, a political newcomer who sought to wrest control of a suburban Atlanta district that has elected Republicans to Congress since the 1970s.

The election will not significantly change the balance of power in Washington, where Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

But it could give Republicans a boost in confidence as they struggle to advance health and tax legislation that has been bogged down by infighting and investigations into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in last year's presidential election.

Handel said at her victory rally that she knew it was going to "require all hands on deck" for Republicans to hold on to the district.

"Tonight I stand before you, extraordinarily humbled and honored at the tremendous privilege and high responsibility that you ... have given me," Handel told a boisterous crowd that chanted Trump's name.

Ossoff and Handel both tried to focus on local issues and avoided mentioning Trump, whose approval rating sits at 37 percent, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

But that did not stop Trump from weighing in on Twitter, calling Ossoff weak on national security and urging voters to support Handel.

Spending on the race reached at least $57 million, nearly twice the previous record, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. The special election was held to fill the seat vacated by Tom Price after Trump appointed him as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Democrats celebrated the fact that they had turned a conservative stronghold into a competitive district.

"We showed the world that in places where no one thought it was even possible we could fight (that) we could fight," Ossoff told supporters.

But the defeat was sure to prompt soul-searching in a party that is shut out of power in Washington and has steadily lost influence at the state level in recent years.

Democrats also lost a special election in neighboring South Carolina on Tuesday, where Republican Ralph Norman easily prevailed over Democrat Archie Parnell in a seat formerly held by Republican Mick Mulvaney, who is now serving as Trump's budget director.

Democrats are 0 for 4 in congressional elections this year, having earlier lost races to fill vacant seats in Kansas and Montana.

Republicans, meanwhile, can now breathe a sigh of relief with the knowledge that they can still win in the kind of affluent, educated districts that often favor Democrats - even with a president who has divided voters in their own party.

"Do I agree 100 percent with what he does? God, no. But I believe he has the country's best interests at heart," said Jessica Podalsky, who voted for Handel on Tuesday morning.</s>Georgia Republican Karen Handel won the most expensive congressional race in history on Tuesday, avoiding a Democratic upset in a race that was widely seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump.

By a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent, the former Georgia secretary of state defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff, a political newcomer who sought to wrest control of a suburban Atlanta district that has elected Republicans to Congress since the 1970s.

The election will not significantly change the balance of power in Washington, where Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

But it could give Republicans a boost in confidence as they struggle to advance health and tax legislation that has been bogged down by infighting and investigations into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia in last year’s presidential election.

Handel said at her victory rally that she knew it was going to “require all hands on deck” for Republicans to hold on to the district.

“Tonight I stand before you, extraordinarily humbled and honored at the tremendous privilege and high responsibility that you … have given me,” Handel told a boisterous crowd that chanted Trump’s name.

Ossoff and Handel both tried to focus on local issues and avoided mentioning Trump, whose approval rating sits at 37 percent, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.

But that did not stop Trump from weighing in on Twitter, calling Ossoff weak on national security and urging voters to support Handel.

Spending on the race reached at least $57 million, nearly twice the previous record, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. The special election was held to fill the seat vacated by Tom Price after Trump appointed him as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Democrats celebrated the fact that they had turned a conservative stronghold into a competitive district.

“We showed the world that in places where no one thought it was even possible we could fight (that) we could fight,” Ossoff told supporters.

But the defeat was sure to prompt soul-searching in a party that is shut out of power in Washington and has steadily lost influence at the state level in recent years. Despite spending more than $30 million, Ossoff lost the district by a wider margin than Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.

Democrats also lost a special election in neighboring South Carolina on Tuesday, where Republican Ralph Norman easily prevailed over Democrat Archie Parnell in a seat formerly held by Republican Mick Mulvaney, who is now serving as Trump’s budget director.

Democrats are 0 for 4 in congressional elections this year, having earlier lost races to fill vacant seats in Kansas and Montana.

Republicans, meanwhile, can now breathe a sigh of relief with the knowledge that they can still win in the kind of affluent, educated districts that often favor Democrats – even with a president who has divided voters in their own party.

“Do I agree 100 percent with what he does? God, no. But I believe he has the country’s best interests at heart,” said Jessica Podalsky, who voted for Handel on Tuesday morning.</s>Republican Karen Handel staved off a furious challenge from Democrat Jon Ossoff on Tuesday in a race to represent a suburban Atlanta seat in Congress, as the GOP and President Donald Trump avoided an embarrassing defeat in the most expensive U.S. House contest in history.

A former Georgia secretary of state, Handel emphasized her experience and roots in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District to defeat Ossoff and keep a seat that’s long been held by Republicans in GOP hands. She becomes Georgia’s first female Republican member of the U.S. House.

Her victory will be cast as a win for Trump, who campaigned for Handel and hurled a string of antagonizing tweets at Ossoff. And it could buoy jittery GOP incumbents who worry that allying with Trump in competitive districts could doom them.

She overcame stiff opposition from Ossoff, a 30-year-old investigative filmmaker who fast became a rising Democratic star. With a carefully calibrated message, Ossoff shattered fundraising records as he appealed to liberals infuriated by Trump and GOP voters frustrated at Washington gridlock.

Georgia District 6 Runoff: Republican candidate for the 6th district Karen Handel (Video by Armani Martin)

His huge fundraising hauls – he raised at least $23 million – kept his message on metro Atlanta’s airwaves and allowed him to target irregular voters and others who rarely cast ballots for Democrats. And a legion of more than 12,000 Ossoff volunteers inundated the district with appeals to vote. But in the end, the money and Democratic energy wasn’t enough to overcome the district’s Republican underpinning.

Once a fervent anti-establishment candidate, Handel ran in this contest as a traditional conservative voice who backed Trump and his top priorities while saying she won’t be an “extension” of the White House.

She also relentlessly attacked Ossoff as an inexperienced stooge of national Democrats funded by out-of-state interlopers. At every turn, she sought to remind voters that Ossoff lived outside the district and that his values were “3,000 miles away.”

Handel won the conservative-leaning district, which stretches from the outskirts of Marietta to north DeKalb County, by running up big margins in GOP strongholds in places such as east Cobb County and Milton where Republicans have long thrived.

She also was able to overcome concerns with Trump across the territory. The president only narrowly carried the district in November, and polls showed him with weak approval ratings. But after keeping him at arm’s length early in the race, she aggressively embraced him after she landed a spot in the runoff in April.

The race - which cost more than $50 million – was over little more than a short-term lease to fill the remainder of former U.S. Rep. Tom Price’s term. She’s likely to face another tough Democratic challenger in November 2018, although Ossoff has said he hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll run again.</s>Republican Karen Handel was projected to win Tuesday’s closely watched U.S. House special election in Georgia, defeating Democrat Jon Ossoff in the most expensive congressional race ever.

The Associated Press called the election for Handel with 81 percent of the precincts reporting and the Republican holding a 11,000-vote lead over Ossoff.

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-educated electorate that typically has given Republican nominees better than 60 percent of the vote.

In April, Handel trailed Ossoff in the first round of voting but led all Republican candidates to qualify for a runoff. Ossoff tallied 48 percent, just shy of an outright victory.

Handel celebrated the early numbers with her supporters at an area hotel, saying she fared well in early and absentee voting but that it was too early to make a prediction.

“It’s still very, very early,” she said. “Everything we’re seeing is incredibly encouraging. … Let’s everybody hang tight, watch returns for a little bit longer, we’ll see what the trends do.”

The race has smashed fundraising records for a House contest, as Democrats try to capitalize on President Trump’s ratings to win the long-held Republican seat.

The campaigns for Handel and Ossoff, along with outside groups, spent a record $50 million.

The 30-year-old Ossoff, who lives just outside the district, failed to win the seat in April. But he was a top-two finisher in an 18-candidate field along with Handel, which landed them in Tuesday’s runoff.

The latest RealClearPolitics.com averaging of polls had Handel leading by less than 1 percentage point, which meant the race was essentially tied.

As polls closed, Georgia election officiasl said voting went smoothly throughout the day, amid some rain across the state.

The sixth congressional district seat, in suburban Atlanta, has been occupied by Republicans since 1979.

GOP Rep. Tom Price gave up the seat in February to become Health and Human Services Secretary.

The 2017 races were supposed to be a prelude to the Democrats’ grand plan to win control of the House next year — based largely on the expectation that voters will be dissatisfied with Trump and fellow Republicans who control Congress.

However, Democrats have failed in their first two attempts this year to take a Republican-held House seat.

In Kansas, Republicans held onto the seat of Mike Pompeo, now the CIA director, and they kept the Montana seat of Ryan Zinke, who became Trump’s Secretary of Interior.

So Democrats essentially pinned their last hopes on Ossoff, a first-time candidate, documentary filmmaker and former congressional aide.

The other special election race Tuesday was in South Carolina. Millionaire developer Ralph Norman, the Republican, defeated former Goldman Sachs tax adviser Archie Parnell, the Democrat, according to the Associated Press.

The race was for the seat left open by Republican Mick Mulvaney, now the White House budget director.

Ossoff has tried to thread the needle in the conservative-leaning Georgia district, appealing to Republican voters by vowing to cut taxes for small busineeses, while championing equal rights for women and minorities, which earned him the support of civil right icon and Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis.

However, Trump has repeatedly warned voters that Ossoff, if elected, would increase taxes and be soft on national security.

“Ossoff, who wants to raise your taxes to the highest level and is weak on crime and security, doesn’t even live in district,” Trump tweeted hours before polling stations opened.

While Republicans have held the seat since former House Speaker Newt Gingrich took it from Democrats nearly four decades ago, the district does not appear as conservative as in years past.

Trump won the district over Democrat Hillary Clinton last year by just 1.5 percent, compared to 2008 when Republican presidential nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain won by 18.9 percent.

While the race has attracted national attention and record money, Georgia voters have also taken a big interest in the outcome.

More than 40,000 people vote early, including 36,000 who didn’t vote in the April contest.

The parties are also attacking each other for the amount of out-of-state money they collected.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis showed just 3.5 percent of Ossoff’s donations between the end of March and May came from Georgia.

Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, continued Tuesday to tout her experience as a state and local elected official and argue that outside forces are trying to buy the seat.

Voters “are not interested in Hollywood and California coming in and buying this seat,” she said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

Still, Handel also benefited from outside spending, though most didn’t go directly to her campaign.

Groups like the Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee backed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, have spent millions on her behalf.

On Monday night, Ossoff told voters: “Politics does not have to be about fear and hate and deception and division,” avoiding mentioning Trump directly, as is his custom, but blistering “those cynics in Washington, D.C.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.</s>ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) _ Republican Karen Hndel has won a nationally watched congressional election in Georgia and avoided a major upset after the most expensive House campaign in U.S. history.

Her victory over Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District comes after Republican special congressional election wins in Montana, Kansas and South Carolina.

Republicans are claiming momentum ahead of the 2018 midterms, but each race was much closer than expected for the four districts.

Those trends leave Democrats hopeful they can win a House majority next year. They need to flip 24 GOP seats.

The 55-year-old Handel is a former Georgia secretary of state who built her professional and political career after leaving an abusive home as a teenager. She succeeds Republican Tom Price, who resigned to join President Donald Trump’s administration.

Atlanta congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis is revving up the crowd at the election night party for Democrat Jon Ossoff.

The 77-year-old congressman on Tuesday recalled a letter a young Ossoff wrote to Lewis asking for a Capitol Hill internship. Now Ossoff is a 30-year-old Democrat running for Congress himself.

He’s trying to pull a major upset in the suburban Atlanta district north of Lewis’ 5th District. Ossoff is running against Republican Karen Handel, who is trying to hang on to a district her party has controlled since 1979.

Lewis is praising Ossoff supporters for making “a major down payment on change not just in the 6th District but … in our nation.”

Karen Handel is telling supporters that the first results in Georgia’s closely watched congressional race are “incredibly encouraging.”

The Republican candidate made a brief appearance shortly before 8 p.m. as her supporters gathered at a hotel ballroom in Atlanta and chanted “Karen! Karen! Karen!” at her entrance. Handel says there is a long way to g and urged her backers to stay and watch returns come in.

Handel faces Democrat Jon Ossoff in the race for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District and is trying to hold on to a district her party has controlled since 1979.

Most polls have closed in Georgia for a special congressional election that offers a potential preview of the 2018 midterm elections.

A few precincts remained open Tuesday evening after a rain-soaked day in metro Atlanta.

Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff are expected to have a tight finish in the area’s traditionally conservative northern suburbs.

Ossoff wants an upset that would rattle Washington ahead of next year’s elections. A Republican has represented Georgia’s 6th Congressional District since 1979.

Turnout could exceed 250,000 votes, an impressive total for a special election, and its already the most expensive House race in U.S. history.

An election official says voting has been moving smoothly at polling sites in Georgia’s closely-watched House election.

Richard Barron, director of Fulton County’s registration and elections, says the state’s most populous county is on pace to have around 36,000 people come through when polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. He says about 16,500 people had already voted by 12:30 p.m.

Barron says there have been a couple of voting issues, but it’s nothing that would derail having final results in by 11 p.m. He says one of the most common complaints has been from poll workers canceling people’s absentee-by-mail ballots at polls.

In the April 18 general election, state officials reported polling machines used to check in voters at one precinct in Johns Creek weren’t working properly, but the problem was resolved.

Election officials for a Georgia county in the 6th Congresional District say two polling places will stay open late after an equipment problem delayed the start of voting.

State officials said polling places at Livsey Elementary School and Holy Cross Catholic Church received the wrong equipment for checking in voters.

DeKalb County officials said the problem was resolved by 7:30 a.m. but they want voters to have a full 12 hours to cast ballots in the runoff between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams signed an order Tuesday afternoon keeping polls open until 7:30 p.m. at both locations. Other polling places in the district, which includes portions of Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties, close at 7 p.m.

An election official in Georgia’s most-populous county says he’s aiming to have final results in by 11 p.m. Tuesday in Georgia’s closely-watched congressional election.

That would contrast with last April, when Fulton County could not report vote totals for several hours after polls closed in the special election in Georgia’s 6th congressional district. That contest led to Tuesday’s runoff between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff.

This time, county officials are optimistic they will have more timely results.

Richard Barron, director of Fulton County’s registration & elections, says that although 11 p.m. is his goal, “accuracy is paramount.”

The county scheduled a briefing Tuesday afternoon to update reporters on its role in the election.

Portions of Fulton, Cobb and DeKalb counties are included in the 6th Congressional District.

A spokeswoman for Georgia’s top election official says voting in the state’s closely-watched 6th District is going smoothly but some issues have been reported.

Two voting locations in DeKalb County had the wrong equipment used to check voters in. Workers had to use paper listsas a backup.

Secretary of State spokeswoman Candice Broce said some voters were told to use provisional ballots. She wasn’t sure how many people were given those directions. Broce says DeKalb officials are considering whether to ask a judge to extend voting hours at the Livsey Elementary School and Embry Hills polling places.

Broce says investigators from the Secretary of State’s office are reviewing the issue. An investigator also went to a church in Cobb County after a complaint that campaigns signs were too close to the location.

As voting got underway in Georgia’s closely-watched Congressional race, the state’s chief elections official posted a video on social media urging voters to head to the polls and “wear your peach voting sticker with pride.”

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said in the Facebook video Tuesday morning that Georgians’ right to vote for their public officials should never be taken for granted.

Either Republican Karen Handel will claim a seat that’s been in her party’s hands since 1979 or Democrat Jon Ossoff will manage an upset that will rattle Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Their matchup in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District has become a proxy for the national political atmosphere and a test of GOP strength early in Donald Trump’s presidency.

As the most expensive House race in in U.S. history goes into voters’ hands, President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to weigh in on the closely-watched election.

In one early Tuesday tweet, Trump criticizes Democrat Jon Ossoff, saying he’ll raise taxes, is weak on crime and “doesn’t even live in district.” Ossoff lives in Atlanta, south of the suburban district. He has said the address is close to Emory University, where his fiancee attends medical school.

In another tweet, Trump praises Republican Karen Handel as a hard worker who will fiht for lower taxes, great health care and strong security.

The matchup between Ossoff and Handel has become a proxy for the national political atmosphere and a test of GOP strength early in Trump’s presidency.

Trump barely won the district in November, giving Democrats an opening once Republican Tom Price resigned the seat to join the president’s Cabinet as health secretary.

The most expensive House race in U.S. history heads to voters Tuesday in suburban Atlanta.

Either Republican Karen Handel will claim a seat that’s been in her party’s hands since 1979 or Democrat Jon Ossoff will manage an upset that will rattle Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Their matchup in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District has become a proxy for the national political atmosphere and a test of GOP strength early in Donald Trump’s presidency.

Ossoff led an April primary but fell just short of an outright victory, sending an already costly race into a two-month runoff campaign.

Trump barely won the district in November, giving Democrats an opening once Republican Tom Price resigned the seat to join the president’s Cabinet as health secretary.</s>Jon Ossoff, candidate for congress in Georgia's sixth congressional district, meets with his supporters and volunteers at the Sandy Springs Canvass Launch for his final day on the campaign trail. Georgia voters steadily streamed into suburban Atlanta polling places Tuesday set to decide the most expensive House race in U.S. history and put weeks of television ads, phone calls and ringing doorbells behind them. Either Republican Karen Handel will claim a seat thats been in her partys hands since 1979 or Democrat Ossoff will manage an upset that will rattle Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. (Chad Rhym/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)</s>DUNWOODY, Ga. — Republican Karen Handel has won a nationally watched congressional election in Georgia, avoiding an upset that would have rocked Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Her narrow victory Tuesday over Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District 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.

Yet the result in a historically conservative district still offers Republicans a warning — and Democrats some encouragement — that President Donald 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.

Democrats must flip 24 GOP-held seats to regain a House majority next November, but the latest losses mean party leaders and liberal groups 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-educated electorate that typically has given Republican nominees better than 60 percent of the vote.

“This is such an important election because of what goes on in D.C.,” said Tom Greathouse, 52, a business owner who supported Handel. He added that there’s been “a ton of emotion” in a district used to watching Republicans coast.

In April, Handel trailed Ossoff in the first round of voting but led all Republican candidates to qualify for a runoff. Ossoff tallied 48 percent, just shy of an outright victory.

A former Georgia secretary of state, Handel emphasized throughout the campaign that she has lived in the district for 25 years, unlike Ossoff, who grew up in the district but lives in Atlanta, a few miles south of the 6th District’s southern border.

Handel also pointed to the district’s pedigree throughout the campaign, urging Republicans not to let Democrats “steal” a seat that became a proxy for the national dynamics in Washington. Party organizations, independent political action committees and donors from Los Angeles to Boston sent a cascade of money into a race, filling metro Atlanta’s airwaves with ads and its 6th District neighborhoods with hordes of paid canvassers.

Handel insisted for months that voters’ choice had little to do with Trump, whom she rarely mentioned, despite holding a closed-door fundraiser with him earlier this spring. She pointed voters instead to her “proven conservative record” as a state and local elected official. Her protestations aside, Handel often embraced the national tenor of the race, joining a GOP chorus that lambasted Ossoff as a “dangerous liberal” who was “hand-picked” by House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California. She also welcomed a parade of national GOP figures to Atlanta to help her raise money, with Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan holding fundraisers following Trump’s April visit.

It was enough to help Handel raise more than $5 million, not a paltry sum in a congressional race, but barely a fifth of Ossoff’s fundraising haul. The Republican campaign establishment, however, helped make up the difference. A super PAC backed by Ryan spent $7 million alone.

Besides allowing national Republicans to exhale, Handel ended a personal losing streak, including failed primary bids for governor in 2010 and the U.S. Senate in 2014.

On policy, she mostly echoes party leaders. She said she’d have voted for the House Republican health-care bill, though she sometimes misrepresented its provisions in debates with Ossoff. She touts traditional supply side economics, going so far as to say during one debate that she does “not support a living wage” — her way of explaining her opposition to a minimum-wage increase.

That wasn’t enough to sway the election. But a living wage was a key driver for voters like Grant Robison, 25, a Johns Creek resident who works for National Cash Register. He voted for Jon Ossoff.

“I don’t think that anybody should live in poverty, dealing with that when they’re working a 40-hour week,” he said.</s>SANDY SPRINGS — The high hopes Democrats had of striking a political blow to President Trump in the battle for Georgia’s open congressional seat were shattered Tuesday.

Republican Karen Handel emerged victorious in the runoff race for the U.S. House seat in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District — beating back the “Resistance” movement and defending a seat in the wealthy Atlanta suburbs that Republicans have held for nearly 40 years.

Mrs. Handel, a former secretary of state, was declared the winner by networks and the Associated Press more than three hours after the polls closed at 7 p.m., overcoming a well-financed challenge from Democrat Jon Ossoff in the most expensive U.S. House race in history.

Mrs. Handel praised her supporters and said she hopes to carry on the legacy of her predecessors in that district: Newt Gingrich, Johnny Isakson and Tom Price, who vacated the seat to become Mr. Trump’s health secretary.

“These men, these statesmen, have created very very big shoes to fill and I will do my level best to live up to the standard that they have set,” she said. “My promise is to work every single day, relentlessly to make our state and this country a better place.”

With 207 percent of the 208 precincts counted, Mrs. Handel defeated Mr. Ossoff, a former congressional aide and documentary filmmaker, by a 52.6 percent to 47.4 percent margin.

At his election night rally, Mr. Ossoff told his supporters that he had called to congratulate Mrs. Handel, and thanked them, saying this is the “beginning of something much bigger than us.”

“The more than 12,000 of you who as darkness has crept across this planet have provided a beacon of hope for the people here in Georgia, and for people around the world,” he said, going on to take a veiled shot at Mr. Trump.

“At a time when politics has been dominated by fear, hatred and scapegoating and division this community stood up … and you carried us on your shoulders and we showed the world that in places where no one thought it was possible to fight, we could fight,” he said.

Billed as a referendum on the opening months of the Trump presidency, more than 240,000 people had voted, signaling that Democrats and Republicans remain highly engaged in politics after the November presidential election.

Mr. Trump still cast his shadow on the race even after it was over.

In her victory speech, Mrs. Handel thanked a series of national politicians and offered “special thanks to the president of the United States of America.” At that, the crowd at her Atlanta headquarters cheered and broke into chants of “Trump! Trump! Trump!”

Mr. Trump himself went on Twitter and wrote: “Congratulations to Karen Handel on her big win in Georgia 6th. Fantastic job, we are all very proud of you!”

But the built-in advantages in this district were too much for the Ossoff camp to overcome. The defeat marked the fourth time that Democrats have been able to claim only a moral victory in a special election to fill a House seat vacated by Trump Cabinet appointees.

“Nancy Pelosi threw the kitchen sink at her, yet Karen still came out on top and ready to fight for Georgia in Congress,” said Steve Stivers, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

“For all the Democrats’ bluster and despite pouring over $30 million into this race, I couldn’t be more proud to help keep this seat in Republican hands,” he said.

Mr. Ossoff raised more than $23 million for the race, while Mrs. Handel raised $4.5 million. They both received help from the national parties and outside groups, including pro-Handel political action committees that spent millions reminding voters that Mr. Ossoff lived outside the district and warning that he would be as a tool for Mrs. Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat who leads the party in the House.
Campaigning ends and voting begins in the suburbs of Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia between Republican Karen Handel and Democratic Jon Ossoff, where Republican Handel wins the election by a narrow margin.