Dem loss in Georgia special election underscores challenges

Republican Karen Handel defeated a well-funded opponent in a special election for a U.S. House seat in Georgia, a setback for Democrats who hoped President Donald Trump's low approval ratings would help them win congressional races. Some on the left argued for a sharper progressive message and more pointed attacks on Republicans and Trump, while Democrats from Midwestern and working-class districts emphasized the importance of an economic message that could appeal to working class voters who were drawn to Trump.

But the first-time candidate barely mentions President Trump, talking instead in generalities about "restoring civility" and Congress' oversight role.

In conceding the race, Ossoff, a filmmaker and former political staffer, signalled Democrats could learn from these races and prepare for the larger battle for control of the US Congress in 2018.

"For you to suggest that I would do anything to negatively effect her is absolutely outrageous and unacceptable", Handel said.

As the results rolled in Tuesday, AshLee Strong, spokeswoman to House Speaker Paul Ryan, mused over Twitter, "Remember when they told us we'd be punished in the special elexs for following through on our promise to #RepealAndReplace #obamacare?"

Her win marked an impressive rebound from polling that showed her narrowly trailing her rival in the run up to the vote, and signalled that Republican disillusionment about Trump was not as deep as Democrats were counting on. "Campaigns, they obviously keep the doors open because of the contributions from donors".

Ossoff told his supporters: 'The fight goes on'.

Even a Trump Cabinet member and former Georgia governor, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, acknowledged the conundrum at a recent Handel rally, saying some Republicans are "turned off" by the president.

Trump also tweeted that Ossoff would raise taxes, was weak on crime and "doesn't even live in [the] district".

Handel raised more than $5 million, not a paltry sum in a congressional race, but barely a fifth of Ossoff's fundraising haul. National Republicans' House campaign arm added $4.5 million, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce chipped in another seven figures. A super political action committee backed by Ryan spent $7 million alone.

The loss in Georgia followed similar disappointments in special House elections in Kansas and Montana, as well as in South Carolina Tuesday night.

The result no doubt comes as a relief for Republicans who had grown concerned about whether their party, buffeted by the scandals that have plagued the Republican president, could hold the seat in Georgia's sixth district that became the most expensive congressional race in United States history.

Georgia's outcome followed similar results in Montana, Kansas and SC, where Republicans won special House races by much narrower margins than they managed in November.

In the past, the district elected former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Johnny Isakson, now Georgia's senior USA senator; and most recently Tom Price, who held it from 2005 until resigning in February to join Trump's administration. Price himself was easily reelected several times, but Trump himself carried the district over Hillary Clinton by less than two percentage points last November, fueling Democratic hopes they could flip the district. National surrogates stumped for both. Jim DeMint of SC campaigned with Norman, while national Democratic Chairman Tom Perez campaigned for Parnell.

Many rank-and-file Democrats were not having it.

The match-up between Ms Handel and Mr Ossoff in Georgia's 6th Congressional District has become a proxy for the national political atmosphere and a test of GOP strength early in Donald Trump's presidency, prompting record-breaking spending.

Associated Press journalists Alex Sanz and Kathleen Foody contributed.