Tuesday's special election sought to fill the House of Representatives seat of Georgia Republican Tom Price, who recently joined the Trump administration as secretary of health and human services.
Ossoff was backed by major Democratic PACs and raised $8.3 million this quarter, mostly from outside groups.
Karen Handel, the Republican who advanced to a June 20 runoff alongside Democrat Jon Ossoff, kept Trump at arm's length during the campaign - and didn't mention his name during her election night victory speech.
In Karen Handel, Republicans found an experienced political hand to take on Democratic online fundraising star Jon Ossoff in the runoff for a hotly contested House seat in Georgia.
Even though the Georgia 6th is wealthier and better-educated than most congressional districts, a win here could provide Democrats with a blueprint to take control of Congress in 2018's mid-term elections.
But she'll run up against Handel backers like 82-year-old Bev Wingate. She says it proliferated since Trump's victory, with several members acting as precinct captains for Ossoff.
John Garst, a Handel consultant, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it's now up to Georgia's Republican heavyweights to decide whether to rally behind Handel. We all have to rise above it, that it is about the district that has a long legacy of Republican leadership, from my good friend current HHS Secretary Tom Price, to Senator Isakson and former Speaker Newt Gingrich.
At the White House, spokesman Sean Spicer tried to do exactly that.
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In other words, while politics certainly played a role for some , others may have simply had a been-there-done-that attitude. HORSLEY: Some of the Patriots are Trump's friends, and he's a longtime supporter of the team.
Democrat Jon Ossoff almost pulled off a major upset win in a district comprising some of Atlanta's wealthiest, best-educated suburbs.
"Only the Republicans could try to define this as a defeat for the Democrats", said Porter.
For Republicans, Ossoff's strong performance acts as another wake-up call alongside a closer-than-expected win in a House special election last week in arch-conservative Kansas.
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of SC said the race showed how the South was changing.
"We know what's at stake here and I don't think this is about any one person", Handel said Wednesday. "Anything short of describing that as a loss is sort of inconceivable to me in the sense that they literally said that is what they said would do".
While some polling suggests Ossoff still stands a chance at winning the seat, the task in front of him now is a much steeper climb than what he has faced up to this point.
The victor in Georgia will succeed Republican Tom Price, who resigned the seat to join Trump's administration as health secretary. "We got stuck with Trump", he said.
"Well, I would want President Trump tweeting for me", said Nancy Couch.
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