Ossoff and Handel 'getting back to work' for June runoff

ATLANTA — A day after a grueling election ended with two remaining candidates, both Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel said their teams were getting back to work to try and win the June runoff.

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Ossoff narrowly missed winning the election outright when he finished with just under 50-percent. Handel outperformed some of her polling numbers and finished a strong second, leaving 11 other Republicans, some of whom spent more ad money, behind.

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"We're very pleased with the result, and ready to fight on to June," said Ossoff. "If you had told me a couple of months ago or told anyone that a Democratic candidate would've come a couple of percentage points of an outright win in a district that hasn't been competitive in decades, I think I would've been stunned."

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“Obviously, we’re very excited, and what happened last night is very encouraging,” said Handel. “We are united behind one candidate. We’re united behind me, and I absolutely am confident that Republicans are going to answer, and we’re going to be ready to be highly competitive in this district.”

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Handel said she got a congratulatory phone call from President Donald Trump Wednesday morning. Trump has been tweeting against Ossoff during the campaign.

"It was a great conversation," said Handel. "He was very encouraging, quite enthusiastic about me being the Republican going forward."

While many experts see the Sixth Congressional District race as a referendum on Trump's first 100-days in the White House, Ossoff believes he won't play as big a factor in the runoff as people think.

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“I think it’s overstated the effect that what is going on in Washington has on a local race like this, where local issues are the most important thing to voters,” Ossoff said.

Cox Media Group