Ossoff, Handel deadlocked as Georgia's 6th District votes

June 20 (UPI) -- Polls indicate the congressional race between Karen Handel and Jon Ossoff in Georgia is deadlocked as voters head to the polls Tuesday.

Voter turnout is expected to be high and the 6th District race between Republican Handel and Democrat Ossoff, who are separated by 0.1 percent in a poll released Monday and conducted by Landmark Communications, WSB-TV, Atlanta, reported. Ossoff has a slight lead, but each is preferred by about 49 percent of the respondents. Two percent of respondents are undecided in the poll of 500 likely voters, which has a margin of error of 4 percent percent.

More than $50 million has been spent by both sides in the campaign for the open seat vacated by Tom Price after he became Secretary of Health and Human Services. The election could be a test of how Democrats can compete in suburban areas in the 2018 congressional races.

More than 140,000 voters cast early ballots. The April primaries drew 192,000 voters, and the 2014 midterm congressional election in the district drew 210,000 voters.

By sticking to a centrist message, it is possible for Ossoff to attract GOP voters, and most public polls say he has unified the Democratic Party in the district. His occasional praise for President Donald Trump may have alienated some hardcore progressives, though, Politico reported.

"There is no room to worry about who is the most progressive right now," said Michael Owens, Cobb County Democratic Party chairman. "We understand that there is a spectrum, and this district is on the more moderate end. Ossoff fits that bill."

Handel has received fundraising help from Trump and from Vice President Mike Pence. She has repeatedly said, though, that her campaign is "not an extension of the White House." Trump won the district by 2 percent in the 2016 presidential election.