Karen Handel

Handel cruises in GOP primary for 6th District Congress

by

There will be a rematch in the 6th Congressional District election in November.

Former Congresswoman Karen Handel easily won the Republican primary Tuesday night against four other candidates, getting 73 percent of the vote.

Karen Handel concedes, 6th Congressional District
Former U.S. Rep. Karen Handel

That’s with 135 of the 140 precincts reporting in the district, which stretches from East Cobb to North Fulton and north and central DeKalb.

Handel received 21,287 votes to 4,525 votes for her nearest competitor, former Atlanta Falcons running back Joe Profit (full results here).

She won all 51 precincts in East Cobb, tallying 8,576 votes, or 68 percent.

Handel will be facing U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a Democrat who was unopposed Tuesday. Two years ago, McBath unseated Handel to become the first Democrat to represent the 6th in 40 years.

After thanking her supporters, Handel said Wednesday that “Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Michael Bloomberg will be back to pour in millions to protect the investment they’ve made in Lucy McBath. GA-6 deserves serious, proven leadership in these difficult times, and I look forward to taking on Lucy McBath and her do-nothing record.”

McBath’s campaign sent out several messages Wednesday morning, including a response to a Handel comment that during her time as Georgia Secretary of State, Georgia was “a model for voter integrity.”

Said McBath: “I have heard from numerous constituents who have applied for a ballot and never received it, who were stuck in lines for over two hours today in the rain, and many more who never were able to vote. For Karen Handel to cite this as a model for voter integrity is despicable.”

In 2018, McBath prevailed by fewer than 3,000 votes in one of the key races that swung control of the U.S. House to Democrats. It’s considered another bellwether campaign in the fall.

In the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, former 6th Congressional District candidate Jon Ossoff appeared headed for a runoff.

With 77 percent of precincts reporting statewide, he had 48.8 percent of the vote to 14 percent for former Columbus mayor Teresa Tomlinson and 12 percent for former lieutenant governor candidate Sarah Riggs Amico.

They’re vying to compete in November against incumbent Republican David Perdue, who was unopposed.

In a special election in 2017, Ossoff held a commanding lead in a jungle primary for 6th District Congress. But he was forced into a runoff, where Handel defeated him.

Georgia’s other senator, Kelly Loeffler, will be involved in a jungle primary in November. A Republican, she was appointed in January to succeed Johnny Isakson.

The winner in the fall will fill out the last two years of Isakson’s term.

In the Georgia Democratic presidential primary, former vice president Joe Biden got 83 percent, although he wrapped up the nomination several weeks ago.

President Donald Trump was the only Republican on the statewide ballot.

Related Content

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

 

Handel announces bid to regain Georgia 6th Congressional District seat

by

Karen Handel said Monday she’s running for the Georgia 6th Congressional District seat she lost last November. Karen Handel, Georgia 6th Congressional District

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.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

McBath declares victory in Georgia 6th Congressional District

by

Democratic challenger Lucy McBath is declaring victory in the Georgia 6th Congressional District race over Republican incumbent Karen Handel.Georgia 6th Congressional District candidate Lucy McBath

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.

Here’s what the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office has of this afternoon:

  • Handel 156,396 votes (49.55 percent)
  • McBath 159,268 votes (50.45 percent).

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.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb Election Update: Sweeney loses Cobb school board seat; Chastain re-elected

by
East Cobb Election Update, Charisse Davis
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.

Sweeney Davis
Chattahoochee 784 2,132
Dickerson 1,169 737
Dobbins 278 1,119
Dodgen 665 317
Eastside 1 553 306
Eastside 2 994 633
Fullers Park 109 91
Mt. Bethel 1 1,772 925
Mt. Bethel 3 1,350 773
Mt. Bethel 4 1,322 737
Roswell 2 519 311
Sewell Mill 3 240 98
Smyrna 1A 446 1,493
Smyrna 2A 468 1,315
Sope Creek 1 995 561
Sope Creek 2 1,621 1,267
Sope Creek 3 1,169 613
Terrell Mill 874 1,964
Timber Ridge 1,102 573
Vinings 1 612 1,047
Vinings 2 1,262 2,131
Vinings 3 926 1,526
Vinings 4 1,350 896
Total Votes 20,580 21,654
Percentage 48.734 51.27

East Cobb Elections Preview: Georgia 6th Congressional District

by

Georgia 6th Congressional District, Karen Handel, Lucy McBath

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.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!

East Cobb Elections Qualifying: Birrell, state legislators have primary foes

by

Qualifying for 2018 state, federal and local races is ending on Friday, and in East Cobb a number of incumbents will have party opposition in the May 22 primary.

JoAnn Birrell
District 3 commissioner JoAnn Birrell

The most-watched race figures to be the District 3 seat on the Cobb Board of Commissioners. Republican incumbent JoAnn Birrell has qualified, and is being opposed in the primary by Tom Cheek, who recently moved into the Northeast Cobb district.

Cheek, a software account manager, is campaigning on a platform favoring low taxes and reduced spending to solve the Cobb government budget deficit, and opposes high-density development. He stepped into the public spotlight after filing ethics complaints against former Cobb commission chairman Tim Lee for his handling of the Atlanta Braves stadium deal.

Tom Cheek, Cobb commission candidate
Tom Cheek

Birrell has served as District 3 representative since 2011, when she succeeded Lee, and has been highly visible in the community. She has been active with Keep Cobb Beautiful, the Northeast Cobb Business Association and Superior Pets for Patriotic Pets. She also was a strong advocate for the creation of Mabry Park, which recently began construction.

The Democrats to qualify are retiree James Smith and Caroline Holko, a stay-at-home mother.

Congress

First-term U.S. Rep. Karen Handel is the only Republican to qualify for the Georgia 6th District seat that includes East Cobb.

Lucy McBath, Georgia 6th Congressional District candidate
Lucy McBath

Handel, elected last June to succeed Tom Price in a special election, will await the winner of a four-way Democratic primary in May. She won’t be facing Jon Ossoff, whom she beat last summer in the most expensive Congressional election in history. He has opted not to run for a seat that also includes north Fulton and north and central DeKalb.

The Democratic candidates include Bobby Kaple, a former news anchor at CBS 46, technology consultant Kevin Abel, management consultant Steven Knight Griffin and gun-control advocate Lucy McBath, a former Delta flight attendant who lives in East Cobb.

Her son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in 2012 at a gas station in Jacksonville, Fla., by another motorist in an altercation over loud music. The killer received life in prison. McBath had intended to run for the Georgia legislature but changed her filing to Congress after the deadly Feb. 14 school shootings in Parkland, Fla.

Georgia legislature

There will be a rematch of last year’s special election in State Senate District 32. Incumbent Republican Kay Kirkpatrick, a retired orthopedic surgeon, will be opposed by her 2017 opponent, Democratic attorney Christine Triebsch, in November. The district covers most of East Cobb and part of north Fulton.

State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick
State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick

In State House District 37, incumbent Sam Teasley is the only Republican to qualify. The Democratic primary will include computer consultant Bill Bolden, social worker Mary Frances Williams and sales manager Ragin Edwards.

Longtime Republican State Rep. Sharon Cooper of District 43 has a Republican opponent in Kevin W. James, who owns a media production company in East Cobb. The lone Democrat to qualify is Luisa Wakeman, a flight attendant.

Don Parsons, incumbent in State House District 44, also has opposition from retiree Homer Crothers in the GOP primary. Chinita Allen, a teacher at Chalker Elementary School, has qualified as a Democrat.

State Rep. John Carson
State Rep. John Carson

In State House District 45, Republican incumbent Matt Dollar will not have a primary challenger. His Democratic opponent in November will be Essence Johnson, a human resources and operations manager.

Another East Cobb legislative seat also will pit a Republican incumbent against a Democratic foe in November. District 46 State Rep. John Carson has qualified and will face Karín Sandiford, a technology consultant and entrepreneur.

Cobb school board

Two of the three East Cobb members on the Cobb Board of Education are up for re-election this year. In Post 6, two-term Republican incumbent Scott Sweeney, who represents the Walton, Wheeler and part of the Campbell high school attendance zones, has qualified and has no primary opposition. His general election opponent in November will be Democrat Charisse Davis of Smyrna, a public librarian and former school teacher.

Charisse Davis, Cobb Board of Education candidate
Charisse Davis

Republican David Chastain of Post 4 in Northeast Cobb has qualified to run for a second term and has not drawn any party opposition in an area that includes the Kell and Sprayberry attendance zones.

His Democratic opponent in November will be Cynthia Parr.

Judgeships

Several Cobb judicial posts will also be decided this year in non-partisan elections.

Three Cobb Superior Court posts are up for election this year, and incumbents Ann Harris, Robert Leonard and Robert Flournoy are the only qualifiers.

For Cobb State Court Judge Div. 2, Post 4 incumbent Bridgette Campell is the only candidate to qualify. The same goes for incumbent Post 3 judge Henry Thompson and Jason Fincher in Post 1. The only candidate qualifying for State Court Judge Post 5 is incumbent David Darden.

Republican incumbent Cobb Solicitor General Barry Morgan is the lone qualifier for that office, which prosecutes cases in State Court.

 

Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!

Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!