Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel face off in Georgia special election

Eliza Collins | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Why all eyes are on Georgia's special election The race between Jon Ossoff (D) and Karen Handel (R) for Georgia's sixth district Congressional seat has garnered nationwide attention. Here's why.

WASHINGTON — America is watching Tuesday’s race for a congressional seat that represents the wealthy Atlanta suburbs, wondering whether it will turn blue for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Democrat Jon Ossoff — a 30-year-old documentary filmmaker and congressional aide — has put up a surprising fight and raised a record-breaking $23 million in his race against former Georgia secretary of state Karen Handel. It is now the most expensive congressional race in history.

Some Democrats are hoping the special election runoff is a referendum on President Trump and that a win would be the start of a Democratic wave that will continue into the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans say that even if Ossoff wins, it would be hard to replicate the massive amount of money and outside focus for races during a normal cycle.

Polls are showing the race as a tossup. Such a competitive race is unique for the state. Georgia has only had one congressional race decided by less than 5 points in the 69 races since 2008, according to an analysis by Smart Politics.

If Democrats are able to flip the district it'll be the first time a special election has switched party control of a Georgia House seat in 30 races covering 145 years.

“The campaign has built a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans who want to send some fresh leadership to Washington, who want to focus on results rather than partisanship, who want to see a greater commitment to accountability,” Ossoff told USA TODAY after a campaign event in the district last week.

“No one knows who he is,” Handel, a three-time candidate for statewide office, told USA TODAY. “He clearly was a handpicked candidate by (House Minority Leader) Nancy Pelosi. He’ll go to D.C., he’ll be just another vote for her. And what we need is a person like myself who understands the 6th District what the issues are, what the priorities are and can really be a fierce advocate for the people of the 6th.”

The Georgia race likely marks Democrats' best chance of capturing a GOP-held seat left open by Trump's selection of Republican congressmen for administration posts, after falling short in Kansas and Montana. There's also a special election in South Carolina on Tuesday to replace Trump budget director Mick Mulvaney, in which the Republican is heavily favored.

The winner of the Georgia runoff will replace seven-term ex-congressman Tom Price, whom Trump picked as his Health and Human Services secretary. In November, Price won the seat by more than 20 points. But the district was not nearly as supportive of Trump: He beat former secretary of State Hillary Clinton by less than 2 points.

That hasn’t stopped the president from weighing in on the race.

KAREN HANDEL FOR CONGRESS. She will fight for lower taxes, great healthcare strong security-a hard worker who will never give up! VOTE TODAY — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2017

Democrat Jon Ossoff, who wants to raise your taxes to the highest level and is weak on crime and security, doesn't even live in district. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2017

The Dems want to stop tax cuts, good healthcare and Border Security.Their ObamaCare is dead with 100% increases in P's. Vote now for Karen H — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2017

....because he doesn't even live there! He wants to raise taxes and kill healthcare. On Tuesday, #VoteKarenHandel. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2017

Ossoff does not live in the district he’s aiming to represent. He lives with his fiancee near the Emory University campus, where she is in medical school.

“I’m proud to support her career even if I take some heat for it,” Ossoff said. “As soon as she finishes her medical training — you know she starts her hospital shifts at 4 a.m. — I’ll be 10 minutes back up the road in the district where I grew up.”

Ossoff said voters don’t care that he doesn’t live in the district because they’re more focused on other issues. But Handel said that’s not what she’s hearing.

“It matters to people. They want someone with whom they can be connected, someone who knows the community, who has relationships in the community, who's been a part of this community for almost 25 years,” Handel said. “I’ve been here longer — almost longer than he’s been alive.”

Polls will close at 7 p.m. ET unless hours are extended due to delayed openings, according to Candice Broce, a spokeswoman with the Georgia secretary of state's office.

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