WASHINGTON _ Democrats came up short Tuesday night in their costly bid to wrest control of a longtime GOP congressional seat in the suburbs north of Atlanta, losing a race the party had hoped would showcase deep Republican vulnerability in the Trump era.
Republican Karen Handel, the former secretary of state of Georgia, bested opponent Jon Ossoff, according to an Associated Press analysis of returns. With more than 80 percent of precincts reporting, Handel was leading about 52 percent to 47 percent
The contest had turned into the costliest House race in history, as Democratic activists nationwide sent a surge of donations to political newcomer Ossoff in a bid to turn blue a district Republicans have controlled since the Carter administration.
The seat was last held by Tom Price, who vacated it to become Trump's health and human services secretary.
While the close election result is sobering for the Republican Party in a conservative district it customarily wins by double digits without much effort, the victory helps the party avert _ for now _ potentially much more damaging fallout for the White House and Republicans in Congress.
"It's a huge disappointment for Democrats, who really did put all their eggs in this one basket, feeling as though it was the kind of district _ upscale, higher education, higher income voters that went only narrowly for Trump _ that if there's any movement nationally, it should show up in this district," said Stuart Rothenberg, a veteran nonpartisan elections analyst.
Democrats may also be regretting that they invested so heavily in the Georgia district, but paid little attention to the other congressional special election that took place Tuesday, in the South Carolina district vacated by White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney.
Republicans prevailed there _ but by a substantially slimmer margin than had been anticipated. In a district Democratic leaders had largely written off as unwinnable, Republican Ralph Norman, a former state representative, edged out his Democratic rival Archie Parnell just 51 percent to 48 percent.
In Georgia, at stake was a seat Republicans have controlled for decades with little effort. But uneasiness with Trump among the electorate in this rapidly diversifying region energized Democrats.
Among the most concerned about the outcome was Trump himself, who has been attacking Ossoff on Twitter since Monday.
Balloting Tuesday was complicated by torrential rain in the area, creating additional worries for the candidates as they scrambled to get out the vote.
Democrats saw an opening in the region after Trump won the district by less than 2 percentage points. They were hoping their effort there would chart the path for Democrats nationwide to rebuild their power base in onetime GOP strongholds.
