The Georgia race was seen by many as an early referendum on Trump.
The latest GOP victor is Karen Handel, who won about 52 percent of the vote in Georgia's 6th Congressional District to quell the upstart phenomenon of Jon Ossoff, a 30-year-old Democrat who raised more than $23 million and became a symbol of opposition to President Donald Trump.
Rep. Rick Nolan, D-Minn., said Democrats are not as good on delivering a winning message to voters as they should be. "We have closed the gap dramatically", said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
And while Democrats were mourning in Georgia Tuesday night, they nearly stole a House seat in SC where Archie Parnell came within about 2,800 votes and 3 percentage points of defeating Republican Ralph Norman.
But for Democrats, having failed to unseat a Republican in four special House elections in a row despite an extremely energized base, it's now a time for soul-searching - and finger-pointing. "Democrats from coast to coast threw everything they had at this race, and Karen would not be defeated", House Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement.
On both sides of the political spectrum, outside groups have spent millions to try and get an edge in Congress, but Democrats continue to come up short.
Several prominent Democrats said the party needs to rethink its approach heading into next year's midterm congressional elections, when Democrats need to pick up 24 seats to regain control of the House of Representatives.
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The outcome "better be a wake-up call for Democrats - business as usual isn't working", Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said over Twitter.
"When was the last time you heard us talk about those people?"
Narrow losses in two House special elections had Democrats once again trading recriminations Wednesday and pondering anew whether their leaders have them on a path back to power.
She also noted throughout the campaign that she's lived in the district for 25 years, unlike Ossoff, who grew up in the district but lives in Atlanta, a few miles south of the 6th District's southern border. Republicans won these races in Kansas, Montana and SC, but Georgia had been widely touted as a referendum on Trump's impact on the GOP leading up to the 2018 midterms.
"I feel extraordinarily honored and privileged to have this opportunity to represent the people of the 6th District", Handel told Channel 2 political reporter Richard Elliot. Second, Karen Handel embodied blind Trumpism, in a myriad of circumstances, to the point of it nearly being farce. But it was demoralizing for Democrats, who also lost a special election in neighboring SC. Total disarray. The MAGA Mandate is stronger than ever. "We gave them a run for their money".
Considering the vast amounts of cash spent on Ossoff, and Democrats desperate for a win in special elections to prove they have momentum ahead of the 2018 midterms, it was expected that as soon as the race was called for Handel, there'd be quite a bit of analysis and reflection on what caused the defeat. Far from rethinking their support for Trump or their plans to undo former President Barack Obama's health care law, Republicans seem likely to stay the course.
But here's the thing - Ossoff didn't make the election about the president.
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