There was another special election tonight.
President Trump had personally gotten involved in the race, having campaigned alongside Handel and tweeting about the race seven times.
An election official says voting has been moving smoothly at polling sites in Georgia's closely-watched House election. Several were relieved the race was almost over after weeks of calls and visits from campaign volunteers and millions of dollars in advertising.
Republican candidate Karen Handel addresses supporters.
The seat has been in GOP hands since 1978, having been held by such Republican stalwarts as Newt Gingrich and Johnny Isakson. "I think there's a lot of emotion. They said, 'I came out last time but I wanted to check.' Still the same", elections director Maxine Daniels told Petersen.
For Ossoff supporter David Ware, the decision was clear-cut based on his belief that health care should be affordable.
On policy, she mostly echoes party leaders.
The successful execution of that playbook could calm congressional Republicans' ruffled nerves as the GOP advances major legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system and eyes a massive reform of its tax structure.
"It's that fighting spirit, that perseverance and tenacity that I will take to Washington", she said Tuesday night.
She's also known for being a Susan G. Komen Foundation executive in 2012 when the organization sought to cut off its support of Planned Parenthood, which provides services including abortions. Republican Ralph Norman defeated Democrat Archie Parnell by fewer than 5 percentage points with over 90 percent of the vote counted. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) Campaign workers cheer as fellow campaign workers arrive for the final campaign rally for Democratic candidate for Georgia's 6th Congressional district Jon Ossoff.
Handel has handled Trump gingerly. But outside of that comment, he barely mentioned his opponent. She welcomed him for a private fundraiser in late April.
The results will be seen as a measure of how voters feel about Republican leadership months into the Trump presidency.
But that hasn't stopped Trump from weighing in on the race.
The president took to Twitter early Tuesday to slam Ossoff, saying the democrat "wants to raise your taxes to the highest level and is weak on crime and security". Ossoff lives in Atlanta, south of the suburban district.
Trump wants to save $1 trillion in IT systems overhaul
Apple CEO Tim Cook plans to push for strong encryption when he attends a meeting at the White House on Monday, Axios reports . The Pentagon has continued to use floppy disks - years after many consumers stopped - to manage its nuclear arsenal.
Channel 2 Action News has been covering this tight race for months, with exclusive polls and a primetime debate, as more and more attention focuses on metro Atlanta. Voters use touchscreen voting machines, criticized by some activists as outdated and vulnerable.
Georgia was not the only special election that happened Tuesday. State officials, though, say they're confident the technology is secure and no problems had been reported by Tuesday afternoon.
Ossoff, who relied less on outside groups and more on smaller donors, still enjoyed roughly $8 million from outside groups. While that tends to be a typical part of the GOP playbook, some of the advertisements from Handel-supporting SuperPACs were especially provocative, like one spot that tried to link Ossoff to Kathy Griffin shortly after she did a photo shoot in which she held up a bloody effigy of Trump's head.
While Ossoff successfully harnessed the anger against Trump to fuel his rise and his fundraising success, he also didn't make it the focal point of his campaign.
Trump's party also claimed victory in another congressional race Tuesday, in neighboring SC.
Democrats have plenty of energy nationally, but it hasn't translated to the electoral scoreboard.
Still, it is the type of district Democrats have to do well in come 2018 to flip the 24 seats they need to win back the House.
It's one thing to party down while your candidate is winning.
For Republicans, it's about defense, with a healthy dose of fear.
The win continues a string of GOP victories in special congressional elections in 2017, in the wake of Donald Trump's White House victory last November.
There is another election on Tuesday, in SC, but the Republicans are expected to hold the seat, which was vacated when Mick Mulvaney became Mr Trump's budget director. Republican Karen Handel nevertheless eked out a win over newcomer Jon Ossoff, a Democrat.
The Republicans have so far staved off defeats by the Democrats this year.
The first returns from the northern Atlanta suburbs have Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff seesawing around 50 percent.
But despite the adage about all politics being local, national issues clearly motivated voters here - just as they do everywhere at a moment of intense polarization and political engagement.
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