+ A
A -
REUTERS
SANDY SPRINGS
US President Donald Trump accused Democrats on Wednesday of obstructing his agenda, the day after a fellow Republican won a Georgia congressional election that many saw as a referendum on his turbulent presidency.
Former Georgia secretary of state Karen Handel on Tuesday defeated political newcomer Democrat Jon Ossoff, 52 percent to 48 percent. The 4-point win in the most expensive congressional race in history was a blow to Democrats, who tried to wrest control of a suburban Atlanta district that Republicans have held since the 1970s.
The special election, to fill the seat vacated by Tom Price after Trump appointed him as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, does not change the balance of power in Washington, where Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
But it was demoralizing for Democrats, who also lost a special election in neighboring South Carolina. There Republican Ralph Norman easily prevailed over Democrat Archie Parnell for a seat formerly held by Republican Mick Mulvaney, now Trump's budget director.
Democrats had hoped Georgia would provide a breakthrough for a party trying to harvest electoral victories from the grassroots anti-Trump activism seen in marches on Washington and boisterous crowds at town hall meetings around the country.
Democrats came close but still lost two other contested special elections earlier this year for Republican-held seats in conservative Kansas and Montana, and the outcomes in Georgia and South Carolina could put a crimp in the party's fundraising and candidate recruitment.
Prominent Democrats said the party needed to rethink its approach.
"The Democrats have to be hyper-focused on an economic message that tells people that the Republican Party is all about economic growth for millionaires and billionaires, and the Democratic Party is about economic growth for everybody,"Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut told MSNBC.
The outcomes in Georgia and South Carolina also could boost Republican efforts to advance health and tax legislation that has been bogged down by infighting and investigations into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in last year's presidential election.
