Karen Handel makes an early appearance to thank her supporters.Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP
Republican Karen Handel won Tuesday’s special election to replace Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price as the representative for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District.
Following a first-round election in April, Handel has spent the last two months running against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff. The contest cost more than any congressional race in history.
But as my colleague Tim Murphy wrote yesterday:
The big story of the $51 million race is not who wins or loses on Tuesday, but rather that it happened at all. After November, the conservative suburban districts Hillary Clinton carried (or nearly carried) were a riddle: Were they a product of Trump’s unique unpopularity, or did they represent real opportunities for Democrats down-ballot? Ossoff’s performance in the first round of balloting, where he finished just shy of the 50 percent threshold needed to win outright, already went a long way toward answering that question, and his incredible fundraising haul and vast national support will only encourage other Democrats, from California to Texas, to follow his path.
