Republicans essentially concede that Democrat Jon Ossoff, a former congressional staffer, will lead Tuesday's voting. In other words, Price's long-Republican House seat remains up for grabs, and Trump may not be finished mingling with Atlanta.
And because of technical difficulties in the elections office of Georgia's most populous county, it was not clear when final results would be available, leaving political observers across the country in an uncertain cliffhanger as they looked to Georgia's 6th Congressional District.
Georgia's 6th Congressional District has been a traditional Republican stronghold, represented in the 1980s and early 1990s by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Early, incomplete election returns show an upstart Democrat leading in a conservative Georgia congressional district in his bid for a major upset. And two months later, Ossoff will get a second shot in a one-on-one runoff with Handel albeit an uphill climb now that the Republican vote in a reliably GOP district will be consolidated behind one candidate.
Handel treated Trump gingerly throughout the campaign in a district he barely won in November. "I think he hopes to have a Republican elected".
Trump, who took to social media in the campaign's closing days to heckle Ossoff and encourage Republicans, crowed on his personal Twitter account: "Despite major outside money, FAKE media support and eleven Republican candidates, Big "R" win with runoff in Georgia".
Around 9 a.m., the president tweeted that Democrats "failed" in the Kansas race and "are now failing in Georgia".
Republicans seized on Ossoff's record-breaking fundraising numbers by pointing out that the money came nearly entirely from out-of-state sources, such as Hollywood celebrities Chelsea Handler and Rosie O'Donnell.
Special elections will hold particular importance for Democrats this year, as Republicans now control both the House and Senate.
The race to replace Tom Price lasted well into the night.
"She's the person who supports Donald Trump's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. I wonder if Donald Trump and she are going to campaign on that issue in her district", Perez said on CNN.
"We have a lot of wind at our back. The progressive energy out there is palpable", he added.
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With no candidate passing the 50 per cent threshold required to win, a run-off on June 20th is now likely to be held to fill the seat vacated by Tom Price who was appointed by the U.S. president as health and human services secretary.
"If nothing else this race provides Democrats with hope for the 2018 midterm elections".
It's a "jungle primary" featuring 18 candidates - including 11 Republicans and four Democrats.
"There is no doubt this is already a victory for the ages", Ossoff told his supporters, praising them for a campaign that has collected more than $8.3 million, most of it from well beyond Georgia.
While Ossoff's massive haul was impressive, Republicans were quick to point out that 95 percent of that came from outside the state, buoyed by progressive blogs like Daily Kos and fundraising platforms like ActBlue. "Bring it on!" he said.
An Ossoff win would not tip the balance of power in Washington, where Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Ossoff has energized liberals and younger voters, while also aiming for disaffected independents and moderate Republicans.
"We're the underdog in this", said Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said on MSNBC on Monday. "But my job.is to be the representative for the people of the 6th District, and that's what I believe regardless of who is the president".
Ossoff has pledged to fight Trump when he "embarrasses" the country.
The President won the district by less than 2 percentage points last fall after Mitt Romney carried it by 23 points in 2012, and Ossoff's showing largely mirrored Hillary Clinton's near-win in the district.
An investigative filmmaker, Ossoff drew donors and volunteers from well beyond metro Atlanta, raising a sum that dwarfed what any Republican candidate has spent on the contest.
Republicans, meanwhile, have made their own attempts at nationalizing the race.
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