Donald Trump: Republican Karen Handel wins Georgia 6th Congressional District in test for US President
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Republican Karen Handel has won a hotly-contested congressional election in Georgia and avoided a major upset after the most expensive House campaign in US history, according to US media reports.
With more than 65 per cent of the votes counted, CNN predicted that Ms Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, would defeat Democrat Jon Ossoff, a political newcomer who sought to wrest control of a suburban Atlanta district that has elected Republicans to Congress since the 1970s.
Her victory over her Democratic Party rival in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, in a race that was widely seen as a referendum on US President Donald Trump, comes after Republican special congressional election wins in Montana, Kansas and South Carolina.
The 55-year-old Handel is a former Georgia secretary of state who built her professional and political career after leaving an abusive home as a teenager.
She succeeds Republican Tom Price, who resigned to join Mr Trump's administration.
Republicans are claiming momentum ahead of the 2018 mid-terms, but each race was much closer than expected for the four districts.
Those trends leave Democrats hopeful they can win a House majority next year. They need to flip 24 GOP seats.
