Tight Georgia House race as nation watches

Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff greets supporters while campaigning for Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election in Sandy Springs, Georgia, US, June 19, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

"We have a chance to make a decision about who's going to lead us whether the president is there or not there, whether his policies are good or bad," said Ware, 63, an attorney.

Ossoff is a former congressional staffer turned documentary filmmaker who has become a symbol of the anti-Trump movement. Yet Ossoff barely mentions Trump, talking instead in generalities about "restoring civility" and Congress' oversight role.

Handel, 55, embraces her experience as a statewide and local elected official, often telling voters: "You know me."She's also known for being a Susan G. Komen Foundation executive in 2012 when the organization sought to cut off its support of Planned Parenthood.

The affluent and well-educated district has elected former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Johnny Isakson, now Georgia's senior US senator; and most recently Tom Price, who resigned in February to join Trump's administration. Trump barely edged Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 6th in November.

Handel has handled Trump gingerly. She barely mentioned him ahead of finishing second to Ossoff in an April primary but welcomed him for a private fundraiser later that month.

That hasn't stopped Trump from weighing in on the race. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that Ossoff will raise taxes, is weak on crime and "doesn't even live in (the) district." Ossoff lives in Atlanta, south of the suburban district. He has said he grew up in the district and now lives close to Emory University, where his fiancée attends medical school.

Ossoff raised more than $23 million, most from outside Georgia. He emphasizes it's mostly from individual donors. Handel says many of those people live in Democratic-leaning states.

Handel has benefited from outside money, too. It just hasn't flowed through her campaign, which has raised $5 million thanks in part to three fundraisers headlined by Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

The Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee backed by Ryan, has spent $7 million on her behalf. National Republicans' House campaign arm added $4.5 million, and the US Chamber of Commerce chipped in another seven figures.

Republicans won House special election victories already this year in GOP-held districts in Kansas and Montana and hope to add Georgia to that string. Republicans are favored to hold a fourth seat on Tuesday in South Carolina, while Democrats already held their lone open seat in a California special election.

AP