(CNN) Georgia Democrat challenger Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel to be elected to Congress, CNN projects.

Handel conceded the race for Georgia's 6th Congressional District early Thursday morning in a statement posted to Facebook

"After carefully reviewing all of the election results data, it is clear that I came up a bit short on Tuesday," Handel said in the statement. "Congratulations to Representative-Elect Lucy McBath and I send her only good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her."

McBath is a gun control activist whose son Jordan Davis was shot and killed in 2012 after a dispute over loud music. She told CNN before winning the Democratic primary that the activism of the students who survived the shooting in Parkland, Florida, earlier this year inspired her to run for Congress.

"I'm still a mother. I'm still parenting. That's why I believed this was the time to stand up," McBath said.

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