Trump faces knife-edge congressional vote — Georgia election

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.

Karen Handel, Republican candidate for Georgia's 6th congressional district greets diners during a campaign stop at Old Hickory House in Tucker, Ga., Monday, June 19, 2017.

Handel's victory, however, revealed as much about Trump's lingering problems among Republicans as it did the challenges facing Democrats. One mom told USA TODAY she has knocked on more than 1,500 doors to convince people to vote for Ossoff.

The Republican involved in the race made a point of emphasizing that "there are no moral victories". "Shares on the likelihood of Ossoff winning closed above shares on Handel winning continuously since May 16 and saw spreads reaching as high as 36 cents on June 11".

No matter who comes out victorious, the party of the eventual victor will declare the race to be a bellwether for the 2018 midterm elections.

Turnout is on track to far exceed what is normal even for a November midterm and certainly beyond expectations for a special election.

"We've got rain forecast in Georgia and I can tell you right now it's raining Republicans in the 6th Congressional District", Watson said during an interview with Neil Cavuto on the FOX Business Network. Yet his centrist campaign did appear to be able to unite the often-warring factions of the party - the more progressive wing with the more centrist aspects - and if he's able to pull off the upset, that could be a model for other Democrats across the country.

The race was viewed nationally as a sort of referendum on President Trump and locally as another sign of the area shifting from Republican red to mixed GOP-Democrat purple.

As Handel's lead climbed late Tuesday, a senior White House official sent The Washington Post a text message: "They haven't figured out how to beat Trump".

Handel and Ossoff have tried to say this race isn't about Trump or Washington, but the president and the GOP agenda on Capitol Hill have dominated the campaign. Handel and Trump want to overhaul it.

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. The race was to the elect the replacement for President Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price. Trump barely edged Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 6th in November. She rarely mentioned him, despite holding a closed-door fundraiser with him earlier this spring.

That hasn't stopped Trump from weighing in on the race.

A record-breaking $23 million was poured in for Ossoff. Ossoff grew up in the district but now lives just outside the border near Emory University, while his fiancee finishes medical school. The first-time candidate raised $23 million for his campaign, but most of that came from outside of Georgia from liberal enclaves like NY and California. He emphasizes it's mostly from individual donors.

Handel has benefited from outside money, too.

"If we're losing upper middle-class suburban seats in the South, we need to start having discussions immediately on... how in the world are we going to limit the damage in 2018 with Donald Trump as head of our party and president of the United States", Lake added. A super PAC backed by Ryan spent $7 million alone.

The most expensive House race in history is about to end with a new member from Georgia. Georgia's outcome follows similar results in Montana, Kansas and SC, where Republicans won special House races by much narrower margins than they managed as recently as November.

Republicans are favored to hold a fourth seat on Tuesday in SC, while Democrats already held their lone open seat in a California special election.