Republican Karen Handel has won a special election for a U.S. Congressional seat that represents parts of metro Atlanta in the state of Georgia.
Handel won 53 percent of the vote while her opponent, Democrat Jon Ossoff, received 47 percent in the closely watched election that may have cost more than $50 million, the most expensive House race in U.S. history.
The first round of voting was held on April 18 and triggered a runoff because none of the candidates reached 50 percent of the vote.
The Congressional seat was vacated by Tom Price, who was appointed to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary by President Donald Trump.
The district covers areas of Atlanta’s northern suburbs east of Interstate 75 in Cobb, Fulton, and DeKalb counties. The area includes generally wealthy areas like Roswell, Alpharetta, and Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood, and is well-educated with Emory & Oglethorpe universities in the district.
The district has been controlled by Republicans since the 1970s.
Trump and other Republicans sent congratulatory tweets after the election was called for Handel.
Congratulations to Karen Handel on her big win in Georgia 6th. Fantastic job, we are all very proud of you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 21, 2017
Congrats to @karenhandel in GA & @RalphNorman in SC. @realDonaldTrump & I look forward to working with you to #MAGA 🇺🇸 #SweptTheSpecials
— Mike Pence (@mike_pence) June 21, 2017
Laughing my #Ossoff
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) June 21, 2017
