But what works in Vegas doesn't count for much in elections, where winning is the game.
The special election, to fill the seat vacated by Tom Price after Trump appointed him as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, does not change the balance of power in Washington, where Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress. At the same time, the unsuccessful Democratic candidates in these special elections have vastly outperformed the party's nominees who ran in these same districts just eight month ago. All of the state's congressional seats, including Handel's, will be on the ballot as well.
"Democrats would do much better as a party if they got together with Republicans on Healthcare, Tax Cuts, Security", he wrote on Twitter.
To retake the House, Democrats will ultimately need to carry seats with a clear Republican tradition. Jason Carter, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, fared no better, falling just shy of 45 percent against incumbent Gov. Nathan Deal. In 2012, GOP nominee Mitt Romney swamped Barack Obama in this district by 61%-37%.
Handel commended Ossoff and pledged to work for his supporters. That was an ominous sign because in the first-round primary back on April 18, Ossoff had dominated the early absentee tally with more than 60% of that vote. But in such a case, with Republicans gaining 15 to 20 points over their usual margins in these deep-blue districts, would the media be right to declare "disaster for Republicans", hype Clinton's supposed newfound strength, and preach long-term hopelessness for Republican prospects? The battle came down to Fulton County portion of the district, where nearly half of the electorate resided. The GOP base clearly rallied behind Handel, and she closed strong in the final days of the campaign.
Handel even wound up winning by a greater margin than the GOP candidate in an unexpectedly close special election to replace OMB Director Mick Mulvaney in SC that had not been on the national radar.
Norman managed to eek out a 51%-49% victory in a contest where there was surprisingly low turnout of about 88,000.
Cindy, now a tropical depression, moving inland
Resident and neighborhood watch organizer Erin West says people are keeping an eye out for alligators that live in nearby ponds. The lakes are Fort Loudoun, Watts Bar, Chickamauga, Nickajack, Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson, Pickwick and Kentucky.
Relative success for Democratic candidates in the Kansas and Montana special elections had raised expectations for Democrats in SC. While they should take encouragement that their candidates, running in traditionally conservative districts, lost by only single-digit margins, they nevertheless need to face the fact that a critical mass of American voters still feel no particular need to rebuke Trump. The district was seen as within reach to Democrats because Trump won there last November by only 1 percentage point. The party invested political capital in the race, and it paid off.
Republican operatives say that 98 percent of voters in the 6th District already had an impression of Pelosi when they conducted their first internal poll, and she was 35 points underwater. None of the special elections in Georgia previous year had more than a 15 percent voter turnout rate.
Other than going briefly viral for being House of Cards character Frank Underwood's fictional district - a story Parnell tried to capitalize on with House of Cards-themed campaign videos - the race didn't receive anything close to the national attention that was directed toward Georgia or even Montana. The Republicans did very well in the mid-terms and the special election faded quickly into the abyss.
The Democrats had portrayed each of the races as a referendum on Trump's scandal-plagued presidency. Only 26 Republicans hold seats where Hillary Clinton won a larger share of the vote.
The suburban district north of Atlanta is ruby red and has been in GOP hands since Newt Gingrich won it in 1979, but that does not make Jon Ossoff's defeat any less devastating for Democrats struggling to find their way in the Trump era.
Ralph Norman's margin of victory in the similarly lopsided SC 5th was narrower. GA-6 had been reliably Republican for decades, since the creation of its rough present form in 1992.
All told, Democrats had four political rookies on their team in these special elections, while Republicans had three candidates with significant experience in elected office and one who had narrowly lost a governor's race.
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