House race a trial run for Dems, GOP ahead of midterms
ATLANTA (AP) - The scramble to succeed Health Secretary Tom Price as Georgia congressman provides Republicans and Democrats with a trial run for next year's elections.
A focus of the race will be the popularity and agenda of Price's new boss, President Donald Trump.
Republicans remain confident the northern Atlanta suburbs will stick with their historical voting patterns in the upcoming special election. The district backed former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Georgia's senior senator, Johnny Isakson, before sending Price to Washington for 12 years.
But as in many well-educated suburbs around the country, Trump underperformed typical GOP benchmarks: Price won an easy re-election with more than 60 percent of the vote in November, while Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton came to a near draw, neither claiming a majority.