Republican Karen Handel won a closely watched special congressional election on Tuesday, salvaging a seat in the traditionally conservative Georgia where Democrats had hoped to strike a blow against Donald Trump’s presidency.
Ms. Handel, an establishment Republican and former State Secretary of State, defeated Democratic challenger and political novice Jon Ossoff by about five percentage points, U.S. television networks projected, denying Democrats what would have been their first election victory of the year.
Her win marked an impressive rebound from polling that showed her narrowly trailing her rival as the vote approached, and signalled that Republican disillusionment about Mr. Trump was not as deep as Democrats were counting on.
In her victory speech, Ms. Handel even gave “a special thanks to the President of United States of America” as the crowd went wild chanting Mr. Trump’s name.
The result comes as relief for Republicans, who had grown concerned about whether their party, buffeted by the scandals that have plagued the Republican President, could hold the seat in Georgia’s sixth district, which became the most expensive congressional race in U.S. history.
‘Fantastic job’
“Congratulations to Karen Handel on her big win in Georgia 6th. Fantastic job, we are all very proud of you!” tweeted Mr. Trump, who had publicly implored Republicans to troop to the polls to back the candidate.
While the White House had played down the national importance of the Georgia race, Mr. Trump had gone all in on Ms. Handel, and the Republican Party no doubt sees the victory as a shot in the arm as it prepares to fight to preserve its control of Congress in next year’s mid-term elections.
“Tonight, the people of Georgia’s sixth district overwhelmingly voted not only for Karen, but also for President Trump’s agenda of replacing our broken health care system, reforming an outdated tax code, and prioritizing infrastructure investment,” said Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
Mr. Trump’s party also claimed victory in another congressional race on Tuesday, in neighbouring South Carolina.