VP Mike Pence visits metro Atlanta

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Vice President Mike Pence arrived in metro Atlanta Friday to meet with airmen and their families at Dobbins Air Force base.

Pence arrived in Marietta on Air Force Two just before 11 a.m. He talked to a crowd of service members and then met with them.

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He also attended an event to help raise money for Karen Handel. Handel is up against Jon Ossoff in the Georgia 6th Congressional District runoff this month.

Channel 2's Richard Elliot spoke one-on-one with the Vice President about the high stakes in the 6th District race.

Pence said the election is not just about the 6th District, but also about the Trump presidency, and that's why it's important to Republicans.

"This is being turned into, in many ways, a referendum on the choice the American people made last fall, and we've seen that in other special elections," he said.

That focus has helped turn the election into one of the most expensive congressional races in U.S. history and both Democrats and Republicans have pumped millions of dollars into the Handel and Ossoff campaigns.

"And we've seen resources coming in from all over the country, which it's a free country. People are entitled to participated and a lot of people are supporting Karen Handel," Pence said.

Handel told the crowd Friday that they helped raise $250,000, making it a total of $5 million for her campaign. She said the vice president's support means the world to her.

"It has been extraordinarily humbling and Vice President Pence has been more than gracious in his comments for me and about me," she said.

A spokesperson for Ossoff sent a statement on Pence's visit which said:

"Jon Ossoff spent today talking to 6th district voters at public events in the community, as he has done since the beginning of this campaign, sharing his vision for growing metro Atlanta's economy by cutting government waste and prioritizing high-tech and biotech research."

Early voting is already underway and election day is June 20.

Cox Media Group