Campaign

Ex-GOP lawmaker Handel to run for her former Georgia seat in 2020

by Zack Budryk 03/25/19 10:45 AM ET

Former Rep. Karen Handel (R-Ga.) will run for her old seat after losing it in the 2018 midterms, Handel announced on Twitter Monday morning.

Handel was elected to Georgia’s 6th District in the Atlanta suburbs in a June 2017 special election, replacing then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

But in 2018, she lost to Rep. Lucy McBath (D) in her quest for a full term, putting the district in Democratic hands for the first time in more than three decades.

{mosads}In an ad titled “Leader” announcing her campaign, Handel used footage of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) proposing to “eliminate” private health insurance, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) using profanity in a call to impeach President Trump, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) touting the Green New Deal legislation.

“Imagine if we had leaders in Washington who worked for us, leaders more interested in doing their jobs than being a celebrity,” the ad’s voice-over states.

The ad emphasizes Handel’s commitment to veterans’ issues as well as addressing the opioid addiction crisis and human trafficking.

McBath’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment from The Hill.

But the Democratic lawmaker on Monday sent a fundraising pitch after Handel’s announcement, calling her a “true career politician” who “has run for office over and over for the last 17 years.”

— Updated at 11:33 a.m.