Tight Georgia House race as nation watches

Returns from absentee and early voting show the tight race that is expected in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, where Republicans are trying to stave off a major upset ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

The first returns from the northern Atlanta suburbs have Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff seesawing around 50 percent.

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

That reflects the attention and energy surrounding what has become the most expensive House race in US history as both parties vie for a key victory early in Donald Trump's presidency.

Handel celebrated the early numbers with her supporters at an area hotel, saying she improved on her April primary performance. "Everything we're seeing is incredibly encouraging," she said, though she noted it's "very, very early."Ossoff's camp is maintaining its confidence, noting that elections officials have said about 36,000 of the more than 140,000 early votes were from people who didn't cast ballots the first round. That makes it hard, they say, to know what the numbers actually mean.

Handel, a veteran Georgia politician, is fighting to claim a seat that's been in her party's hands since 1979. Ossoff, a 30-year-old first-time candidate, is hoping for an upset that would rattle Washington ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Polls closed at 7 p.m.

The matchup has become a proxy for the national political atmosphere and a test of GOP strength early in Donald Trump's presidency, prompting record-breaking spending, a deluge of advertising and out-of-state volunteers, and more than a few tweets from the White House residence.

Voting technology activists also are keeping a close eye on the race after new details emerged last week about a security lapse at the center that manages Georgia's election technology. State officials say they're confident the technology is secure.

Democrats need to flip 24 Republican-held seats to reclaim a House majority; winning a conservative district like this one would embolden the party and serve notice to Republicans that a Democratic takeover is possible.

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.

Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff greets supporters while campaigning for Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election in Sandy Springs, Georgia, US, June 19, 2017.

Attorney David Ware said he voted for Ossoff because the Democrat defends the Affordable Care Act — President Barack Obama's signature health care law. Handel and Trump want to overhaul it.

"We have a chance to make a decision about who's going to lead us whether the president is there or not there, whether his policies are good or bad," said Ware, 63, an attorney.

Ossoff is a former congressional staffer turned documentary filmmaker who has become a symbol of the anti-Trump movement. Yet Ossoff barely mentions Trump, talking instead in generalities about "restoring civility" and Congress' oversight role.

Handel, 55, embraces her experience as a statewide and local elected official, often telling voters: "You know me."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 affluent and well-educated district has elected former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Johnny Isakson, now Georgia's senior US senator; and most recently Tom Price, who resigned in February to join Trump's administration. Trump barely edged Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 6th in November.

Handel has handled Trump gingerly. She barely mentioned him ahead of finishing second to Ossoff in an April primary but welcomed him for a private fundraiser later that month.

That hasn't stopped Trump from weighing in on the race. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that Ossoff will raise taxes, is weak on crime and "doesn't even live in (the) district." Ossoff lives in Atlanta, south of the suburban district.

He has said he grew up in the district and now lives close to Emory University, where his fiancée attends medical school.

Ossoff raised more than $23 million, most from outside Georgia. He emphasizes it's mostly from individual donors. Handel says many of those people live in Democratic-leaning states.

Handel has benefited from outside money, too. It just hasn't flowed through her campaign, which has raised $5 million thanks in part to three fundraisers headlined by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee backed by Ryan, has spent $7 million on her behalf. National Republicans' House campaign arm added $4.5 million, and the US Chamber of Commerce chipped in another seven figures.

Republicans won House special election victories already this year in GOP-held districts in Kansas and Montana and hope to add Georgia to that string.

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

(CHINA DAILY)