A year after the most expensive U.S. House race in American history was waged in the Georgia 6th Congressional District, the seat could be closely contested again.
U.S. Rep. Karen Handel (left), a Roswell Republican, fended off Democrat Jon Ossoff in a special election despite being outspent in a race that raised more than $30 million.
This year, she’s being opposed by first-time candidate Lucy McBath (right), a nationally known gun-control advocate.
The 6th Congressional District, which includes most of East Cobb, North Fulton and north and central DeKalb, has been in Republican hands since former House Speaker Newt Gingrich first won in 1978.
6th District maps
But Handel, a former Georgia Secretary of State, won only after Ossoff, a political novice, barely avoided a runoff following a “jungle primary” in which she finished second. In the runoff, she got some of her strongest margins in East Cobb and was actively supported by commissioners Bob Ott and JoAnn Birrell.
Handel was unopposed in the Republican primary in May. McBath earned the Democratic nomination in a runoff.
A poll released Tuesday shows Handel with a four-point lead, which is within the margin of error.
The National Republican Campaign Committee has purchased $1.4 million in Atlanta TV air time for pro-Handel commercials that began this week.
Candidate websites
President Donald Trump won the 6th District with just 51 percent of the vote in 2016. Since succeeding former Rep. Tom Price, Handel has touted her vote for Trump’s tax cuts, but she opposes his steel and aluminum tariffs. (The 6th District includes the U.S. headquarters of Mercedes-Benz.)
McBath is a former Delta Air Lines flight attendant who lives in East Cobb. Her son, a Marietta High School graduate, was shot and killed in 2012 in Florida by an angry motorist for playing loud car music at a gas station.
Since then, she’s been an outspoken advocate for gun-control and other traditional liberal positions.
She wants to preserve the Affordable Health Care Act (referred to as “Obamacare”) with some changes, as well as expand Medicaid in Georgia. McBath has been critical of what she calls the “Trump-Handel Tax Scam” and supports citizenship for the “Dreamers,” the children of undocumented immigrants who have grown up in the United States.
Handel has advocated “repealing and replacing” Obamacare with a market-based alternative, as well as building a wall along the southern border of the U.S. to prevent illegal immigration.
Related coverage
McBath has been endorsed by EMILY’s list, a political action committee that supports pro-choice Democrats. Handel has the endorsement of the Susan B. Anthony List, which supports pro-life candidates.
During the campaign, Handel has raised questions of McBath’s East Cobb residency pertaining to her claiming homestead exemptions.
McBath noted that Handel, a former Georgia Secretary of State and candidate for the U.S. Senate and Georgia Governor, is only now running for re-election for the first time and that the incumbent “will do or say anything” to remain in power.
McBath made those remarks Tuesday in a debate with Handel that was conducted by the Atlanta Press Club. The video below is about a half an hour, and includes a heated exchange about gun-control, background checks for arms purchases and the National Rifle Association.
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