Atlanta

6th District race heats up with rally, endorsements

ATLANTA — Democrats from around the country gathered in Atlanta Thursday for an annual dinner for state Democrats.

The dinner at the Hyatt Regency downtown drew attention from big names in the party as they wanted to take part and rally support for Jon Ossoff.

"I'm here to tell you the Democratic National Committee was all in before Tuesday and we're all in through June 20," Democratic Party Chairman Tom Perez said.

Ossoff is up against Republican Karen Handel in the 6th Congressional District runoff on June 20.

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"If you had told any of us, let's be honest, just six weeks ago, that we would get the kind of result we did on Tuesday, we wouldn't have believed it," Ossoff said.

Just before Ossoff took the stage at the dinner, the Republican National Committee sent a statement slamming his appearance at the event:

"Ossoff will kick off his new campaign outside of the district he's seeking to serve. This is on top of ... living outside of Georgia's 6th Congressional District."

While Ossoff got support from his party's chairman, Handel gathered her own big name support, picking up an endorsement from Gov. Nathan Deal.

She wasn't available to go on camera Thursday, but said Wednesday, "What I hear from voters across the district first and foremost is they were looking for that individual who most aligned with their views and the values of the 6th District."