Karen Handel said Monday she’s running for the Georgia 6th Congressional District seat she lost last November.
The Roswell Republican and former Georgia Secretary of State held the seat for a little more than a year following a 2017 special election, then was defeated by Democrat Lucy McBath.
In a brief message on her website, Handel said she’s running because the 6th District—which includes East Cobb—”deserve[s] better than a Pelosi pawn as our representative in Washington. We need someone who works for our best interests, not just for the Pelosi agenda or to gain national celebrity.”
Those were references to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who regained that position when Democrats took the House in the November elections, and to McBath, who’s gained national attention for her gun-control efforts.
McBath, who lives in Marietta, became the first Democrat elected to the seat once held by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 40 years after she narrowly defeated Handel.
McBath used Handel’s announcement to make a fundraising pitch on her campaign Facebook page, saying “we know we’re in for a tough re-election fight… but when the going gets tough, #TeamLucy hasn’t failed me yet.”
No other candidates have announced to run for the 6th District seat, which includes North Fulton, Sandy Springs, and north and central DeKalb.
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Democratic challenger Lucy McBath is declaring victory in the Georgia 6th Congressional District race over Republican incumbent Karen Handel.
Here’s the statement issued by McBath’s campaign shortly before 2 p.m. today:
“After a hard fought race, I am honored to announce that the people of Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District have put their trust in my vision for the future of our district and nation.
The voters responded to my commitment to put aside partisan fights for the good of the American people. Six years ago, I went from a Marietta mom to a mother on a mission. After my son was lost to gun violence, I stood up and started demanding more. After Parkland, I was compelled to enter this race for Congress – to provide leadership that would be about the business of putting lives over profit. I vow to make that my top priority.
I look forward to representing the people of Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District, and I pledge to work hard fighting for every single person and family in this district.”
Handel’s campaign had this response around 3 p.m.:
Given the close results of our race, and the fact that the official results at this time are within the 1% threshold where a recount is possible, we believe it is prudent to review and assess all data before making additional actions or statements.
Both candidates exchanged the lead more than once in the hours shortly after the polls closed on Tuesday in a race that late polls showed to be a dead heat.
Shortly after 2 a.m., Handel held an extremely thin lead, by around 50 votes. Both candidates told supporters late last night that a recount seemed likely
But as absentee ballots and other late-reporting votes came in from Fulton County this morning, McBath, an East Cobb resident and nationally known gun-control advocate, took the lead.
Handel won the East Cobb portion of the 6th District and McBath cruised in DeKalb. In Handel’s home base of North Fulton, she leads McBath by less than 1,000 votes.
If McBath is officially declared the winner, she’ll be part of the new Democratic majority in the U.S. House.
She would also would end a 40-year Republican Congressional hold on the seat that Newt Gingrich first won in 1978.
We’ll keep updating this post.
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Charisse Davis will be the only woman on the Cobb Board of Education. (East Cobb News file photo)
Catching you up on the day after some notable elections results in East Cobb, and starting with one incumbent who was defeated last night.
That’s Republican Scott Sweeney, who was vying for his third term for the Post 6 seat on the Cobb Board of Education that includes the Walton and Wheeler attendance zones.
He was ousted by Charisse Davis, who like many fellow Democratic challengers in local races was running for the first time.
Some additional votes came in from when when we posted early this morning, and Davis received 21,654 votes, or 51.27 percent. Sweeney had 20,580 votes, or 48.734 percent.
As we noted last night/early this morning, Davis’ win closes the GOP majority on the school board to 4-3 come January. She’s a former school teacher and now librarian in Fulton County whose children attend school in the Campbell attendance zone, some of which is in District 6.
Here’s what Davis told her supporters this morning.
As a school district, we have an opportunity to celebrate our successes while facing our issues with the goal of finding solutions. As an educator and mom of two in the district, I am committed to seeing the district become a leader in implementing solutions that can help all of our students achieve. We can, and will, do better to provide access to early learning options, provide transparency to the families in this community, and focus on the students of this district, no matter how they learn.
East Cobb News covered a candidates’ forum between Davis and Sweeney last month during what came to be a competitive election. Both were unopposed in the primaries, but she received more votes than Sweeney, whose sons attend Walton and Dickerson.
On Tuesday, Sweeney won most of the East Cobb precincts, although Davis carried the Terrell Mill precinct handily. He carried a precinct in Vinings, but she enjoyed large margins in all other precincts in the Cumberland-Smyrna area.
We’ve got a table below that breaks it down, and will be adding more reaction.
For now, she breaks the Republican lock on elected officials that represent East Cobb residents. The 6th Congressional District and State House 37th District races are still in too-close-to-call mode.
Republican Cobb school member David Chastain won a second term Tuesday, defeating Democrat Cynthia Parr to keep the Post 4 seat that includes the Kell and Sprayberry districts.
Chastain received 20,592 votes, or 53.61 percent, while Parr got 17,820 votes, or 46.39 percent.
We’ll have more later in the week on reaction from other races, including commissioner JoAnn Birrell’s close re-election, legislative results and where the Georgia governor’s race stands.
On Tuesday voters will be going to the polls in midterms that have spiked interest across the country, and close to home. This East Cobb Election Day post rounds up everything we’ve put together before you head to your precinct and contains some late news from Monday as campaigning drew to a close.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all precincts.
In East Cobb, there’s a full slate of competitive races that is rare for a community that’s been strong Republican territory for years.
Every elected official who represents East Cobb—federal, state and local—is in the GOP, but there are Democrats in all of the 10 state and local races on Tuesday’s ballot.
All of the Democrats are women, many of them minorities. Nine of them are first-time candidates, some reacting to Donald Trump’s presidential election and energized by Jon Ossoff’s Congressional campaign.
With plenty of midterm prognostications focused on suburban voting, the results from East Cobb figure to be closely watched.
On Monday, some national polls declared the 6th Congressional District race that includes East Cobba toss-up, including the Cook Political Report and The New York Times.
Republican incumbent Karen Handel (left), who defeated Democrat Ossoff in a special election last year, is facing Democrat Lucy McBath (right), a high-profile gun-gun control advocate, in a race that could help determine party control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Handel had been holding a slight lead within the margin of error. When she defeated Ossoff last year, Handel got some of her strongest margins in East Cobb. The district also includes north Fulton, Sandy Springs, and north and central DeKalb.
Republicans are trying to hold on to their majority in the House, and are expected to lose seats. The 6th Congressional District of Georgia has been in GOP control since 1979, when Newt Gingrich was first elected.
The Georgia governor’s race also is expected to be close and is seen as sparking early voter turnout.
Democrat Stacey Abrams has drawn virtually even with Republican Brian Kemp, and Cobb County is seen as battleground turf. The possibility of a runoff looms with Libertarian candidate Ted Metz on the ballot.
The politicking also has gotten ugly, with Kemp, the current Secretary of State, accusing the Georgia Democratic Party of trying to hack the state elections system.
At the local level, there’s a Cobb Board of Commissioners race and two Cobb Board of Education races for East Cobb voters to decide.
District 3 Republican incumbent commissioner JoAnn Birrell is being challenged by Caroline Holko for a seat that includes Northeast Cobb.
For the Cobb school board Post 6 race, which includes the Walton and Wheeler attendance zones, two-term incumbent Scott Sweeney will face Charisse Davis. In Post 4 (Kell and Sprayberry), David Chastain is vying for a second term against Cynthia Parr.
East Cobb’s legislative delegation, which typically doesn’t generate much general election competition, has it this year.
One State Senate race and five State House races will be determined on Tuesday as well.
Early voting has been at a record pace in Cobb and Georgia. Cobb government said Monday that the nearly 135,000 people who have voted early make up around 27 percent of al the registered voters in the county.
There is the threat of stormy weather Tuesday, and rain could last for most of the day.
Cobb government said late this afternoon that:
“If voting is delayed due to weather, the Elections Office will ask a judge to extend voting past 7 pm for the length of time they had to shut down.”
We will post more about this as weather updates become available during the day.
East Cobb News will provide continuing coverage all day and evening on Tuesday.
We’ll also be sending out a special election newsletter first thing Wednesday morning, since it figures to be a long night.
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Tuesday is election day in Cobb and Georgia, and in East Cobb there are several contested races at the state and local level. In this East Cobb Primary Election Guide, we’ll round up stories we’ve posted previously about those races and about who’s on the ballot and where to vote.
There is one precinct change in East Cobb that we haven’t noted before. If you’re a registered voter in the Elizabeth 03 precinct, your polling station has changed. It was at Marietta Alliance Church, but on Tuesday you’ll need to go the Piedmont Road Church of Christ (1630 Piedmont Road).
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all precincts; if you are in line by 7 p.m. you will be allowed to vote. Voters will be asked to choose one ballot: Democratic, Republican or non-partisan (which will not list candidates of either party).
Also something from the weekend in case you missed it: An East Cobb legislative candidate has been disqualified due to a tax issue. Kevin James is a Republican and was running against incumbent State Rep. Sharon Cooper in House District 43.
His name will still be on the ballot, but votes for him will not be counted.
Here are our previous posts, Candidates on the Issues, for those races in East Cobb in which there are contested primaries.
One race we did not post about, due to some technical site issues we were having over the weekend, is the 6th Congressional District primary, where there is a possibility of a runoff on the Democratic side.
U.S. Rep. Karen Handel is unopposed in the Republican primary, but several Democratic candidates have lined up after Jon Ossoff declined to run again after last year’s special election.
They include former CBS46 news anchor Bobby Kaple, businessman Kevin Abel, gun-control advocate Lucy McBath and former CDC policy coordinator Steven Knight Griffin, a graduate of Lassiter High School who lives in Brookhaven.
McBath initially qualified to run in State House District 37 that includes some of East Cobb but switched after the February school shootings in Parkland, Fla. Abel and Kaple both live in North Fulton.
The District includes most of East Cobb, as well as parts of North Fulton and north and central DeKalb.
Should there be a runoff, that would take place on July 24.
Georgians also will decide their party nominees for governor, lieutenant governor and other statewide offices. The Democratic ballot will include questions about gun bump stock sales, state Medicaid expansion, an independent redistricting commission and mass transit funding.
Cobb Elections said that 12,994 people took part in advance voting in person, and another 1,735 through the mail.
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