6th District Election Shatters Record For Most Expensive U.S. House Race

By Craig Johnson (Patch Staff)

In a sign of the importance the Democratic and Republican parties are putting on President Trump's popularity on the local level, Georgia's 6th District contest between Karen Handel and Jon Ossoff is now the most expensive House race in the nation's history.

The race to replace former U.S. Rep. Tom Price, who vacated the seat to become the nation's health secretary, has benefited from an outpouring of cash from outside groups determined to sway the biggest election of 2017 thus far.

Ossoff, a political newcomer who has risen from congressional aide to Democratic heavyweight, almost won outright during a special election on April 19. The 30-year-old investigative filmmaker ended the night with 48 percent -- 2 percent shy of the 50 percent needed to declare victory. Handel, who had to contend with 10 other Republicans in an 18-candidate field, mustered just enough votes to force a runoff.

• RELATED: 6th District Race: New Voter Registration Deadline Is May 21

The skyrocketing pricetag of the race has shattered the record for a House of Representatives race, which was last set in 2012 in Florida's 18th District. TV advertising in that race between Republican Allen West and Democrat Patrick Murphy hit $24.4 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The race to represent the 6th District -- which includes affluent Atlanta suburbs encompassing parts of Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties -- is up to $29.7 million, Politico reports.

“Everybody has shoved their chips into the middle of the table, and neither side can afford to lose,” former GOP Rep. Tom Davis, who led the National Republican Congressional Committee in the late 1990's, told Politico. “Republicans can’t afford to lose this because it changes the narrative and it makes it easier for Democrats to recruit candidates and fundraise,” Davis was quoted as saying. “If Democrats lose, then it punctures their narrative of a coming anti-Trump wave.”

The new figures come as Handel continues to garner establishment endorsements. On Thursday, her campaign announced that the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s leading representative of small business owners, officially backed her for the 6th District seat. The group said that Handel was "an ideal candidate for Congress." Days ago, several key members of the Cobb Board of Commissioners, including its chairman, threw their support behind Handel.

Meanwhile, Ossoff has waded into the White House controversy surrounding the firing of FBI Director James Comey. This week, Ossoff, using Trump's favorite medium, called for a special prosecutor to investigate the matter.

In February, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal called a special election to replace Price. Handel and Ossoff gained enough votes to advance to the runoff election scheduled for June 20.

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