Republicans were victorious Tuesday in special elections in Georgia and SC, with voters sending Karen Handel and Ralph Norman to the House of Representatives.
"This is not the outcome any of us were hoping for, but this is the beginning of something much bigger than us".
Trump during the Tuesday night rally said that had Handel lost in Georgia, then the media would have blamed him for the results.
Handel's handy victory over Democrat Jon Ossoff follows GOP special election wins in Kansas, Montana and SC.
Trump is not particularly popular in the district (he carried it by only 2 points in the November 2016 election) and Handel largely avoided invoking his name during the campaign despite his appearance at a private fundraiser for her in May.
"I don't think it proves anything about next year", he said.
Pollster Robert Cahaly told Politico the high turnout likely meant Handel would win because Georgia's sixth district, which includes Atlanta's northern suburbs, is generally red.
The president then slammed Democrats for the money poured into the Georgia election, which became the most expensive House race in history. Their best chance was arguably in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, a suburban one near Atlanta where Donald Trump barely edged out Hillary Clinton previous year.
Qatar Starts Maritime Operations through Oman, Assisted by Iran
The Port Authority of Qatar broadcast a video of a ship laden with containers as it arrived in the port of Hamad, in Doha . Making life more uncomfortable for Qatar is Donald Trump's open support for the other side.
The 30 year-old first time candidate was hoping to "Flip The 6th", a district seat that has been in the Republican Party's control since 1979.
BENNETT: Another reason why Democrats shouldn't feel all that demoralized is Karen Handel's slim margin of victory, says House Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Linda Sanchez.
"They took a special election and blew it out of proportion", said David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University.
Ossoff told his supporters: "The fight goes on".
There have been five women elected to represent Georgia in the House of Representatives. Most recently, Tom Price resigned in February to join Trump's administration. "If you look at the numbers, she was basically able to capitalize on the amount of Republicans that lived in that district".
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. Ossoff had raised roughly $23 million and spent about $22 million as of the most recently available campaign finance reports. The Republican campaign establishment, however, helped make up the difference.
On policy, Handel mostly echoes the GOP line. "God, no. But I believe he has the country's best interests at heart", said Jessica Podalsky, who voted for Handel on Tuesday morning.
"She was able to use the president's support", said Robinson.
Comments