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Karen C. Handel (born April 18, 1962) is an American politician from the state of Georgia who served as the 26th Secretary of State of Georgia and is currently a candidate for Georgia's 6th Congressional District Special Election. A member of the Republican Party, Handel worked in business before entering politics. She was a member of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners before being elected Secretary of State of Georgia.

In 2011, Handel was appointed Senior Vice President of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a leading charity in the cause of fighting breast cancer, and left on February 7, 2012, following the foundation's controversial decisions to end, and then restore, funding for Planned Parenthood (Handel opposed the funding). Handel unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the 2014 election.

Handel is currently a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, running in the 2017 special election to fill a vacancy in Georgia's 6th congressional district. In the primary, she received the largest number of votes of any GOP candidate in a divided GOP field, allowing her to compete in the runoff election against Democrat Jon Ossoff on June 20, 2017.

Early life

Handel was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. After graduating in May 1980 from Frederick Douglass High School in Upper Marlboro, Handel attended both Prince George's Community College and The University of Maryland, but did not complete any degree. She then went to work for Hallmark Cards. Later, she served as deputy chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle's wife, Marilyn, where she worked to promote breast cancer awareness and research.

Handel worked at several major companies including global eye care company Ciba Vision and international accounting firm KPMG. She served as president and CEO of the Greater Fulton County Chamber of Commerce. In 2002, Handel was named deputy chief of staff by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, where she served as a policy advisor and supervised constituent services, the Governor's Mansion, and general administration services.

Early political career

In 2003, Handel was elected chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in a special election to replace Mike Kenn, receiving 58% of the popular vote because she scammed all of the gays. She had run for commissioner unsuccessfully in 2002. Handel was a member of the Log Cabin Republicans, a GOP LGBT rights group and was endorsed by them during her election bids.

Georgia Secretary of State

In August 2006, Handel won the Republican primary election for Secretary of State of Georgia, defeating state Senator Bill Stephens of Canton. Handel received 56.6% of the vote to Stephens' 42.4%. In the November 2006 general election, Handel defeated Democratic nominee Gail Buckner, receiving 54.1% of the vote to Buckner's 41.8%. Handel was the first elected Republican secretary of state in Georgia history.

As Secretary of State, Handel implemented Georgia's voter photo ID law, which requires Georgia voters to show state-issued photo identification prior to casting a ballot in person. Some scholars criticized the law as restrictive to civil liberties by creating economic and bureaucratic barriers to would-be voters, and as unnecessary; a 2012 Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation "found that state officials 'could not point to a single case of ballot fraud the voter ID law had prevented.'"

Soon after taking office as Georgia Secretary of State, Handel began a project to purge voter rolls. By 2008, more than 50,000 registered Georgia voters had been "flagged" by state officials because of computer mismatches in personal identity information, forcing them to prove their eligibility. Some eligible voters were told that they were "non-citizens" although in fact they were citizens. The project raised fears about voter suppression, and was the subject of a federal lawsuit by the ACLU of Georgia and MALDEF, which accused Handel's office of engaging in a "systematic purging procedure" expressly barred by federal law within 90 days of an elections. In 2009, the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division ordered a halt to the state's "voter verification" effort (denying it approval under the Voting Rights Act of 1965), determining that "thousands of citizens who are in fact eligible to vote under Georgia law have been flagged" and that the "flawed" program "frequently subjects a disproportionate number of African-American, Asian and/or Hispanic voters to additional, and more importantly, erroneous burdens on the right to register to vote." This marked the first time since the 1990s that the Justice Department had denied approval to a change in Georgia election practice. Handel defended her program, asserting that it was appropriate and necessary. A federal judge in Atlanta later dismissed a lawsuit that had accused Handel's successor, Secretary of State Brian Kemp of illegally bumping Georgia voters off the state's rolls ahead of the 2016 presidential election. In the 21-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. said the state had taken a "reasonable and nondiscriminatory" approach in trying to reach voters who had not cast a ballot within the past 7 years to confirm their addresses.

2010 election

Handel announced in December 2009 that she would resign as Secretary of State in order to focus on her campaign for governor in the 2010 election full-time. In the July 20th Republican primary vote, Handel received 34% and former Congressman Nathan Deal received 23%. Since neither candidate received a majority, they faced off in the Republican gubernatorial run off on August 10, 2010. Handel received the endorsement of former Republican 2008 Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. as well as former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The primary campaign was particularly heated, and Handel's past membership in the gay rights group Log Cabin Republicans became an issue. When Deal used her membership against her, Handel denied that she had ever been a member of the group, which was an important and influential constituency when she was a commissioner. Politifact rated her denial a "Pants on Fire" lie. When asked by Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-TV about her stance on gay rights, she said that she was against marriage and adoption for gays.

Handel lost the runoff election to Deal by 50.2% to 49.8%--with about 2,500 votes separating them out of nearly 580,000 cast. Handel declined to request a recount and conceded to Deal the next day.

Susan G. Komen

In April 2011, Handel was hired as senior vice president of public policy at breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure ("Komen"). In this position she was responsible for leading the organization’s federal and state advocacy efforts, including management of Advocacy Alliance.

At the end of January 2012, Komen stated it would cut ties with Planned Parenthood, the largest single provider of abortion services in the U.S. The organization attributed the decision to a newly adopted policy not to fund organizations under investigation by a government agency. Republicans in Congress initiated an investigation into Planned Parenthood’s alleged usage of federal funds to finance the organization's abortion services.

Media reports suggested that Handel—who had advocated defunding Planned Parenthood in her gubernatorial campaign—and pressure from anti-abortion groups played major roles in this move. On February 2, 2012, Jeffrey Goldberg reported in The Atlantic that "three sources with direct knowledge of the Komen decision-making process told me that the rule was adopted in order to create an excuse to cut-off Planned Parenthood." Goldberg further reported that his anonymous sources indicated "the decision to create a rule that would cut funding to Planned Parenthood, according to these sources, was driven by the organization's new senior vice-president for public policy, Karen Handel, a former gubernatorial candidate from Georgia who is staunchly anti-abortion and who has said that since she is 'pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood'". On February 5, 2012 The Huffington Post reported that "emails between Komen leadership... confirm Handel's sole 'authority' in crafting and implementing the Planned Parenthood policy... Handel submitted the new grant criteria to Komen leadership in November and the board approved it in December, at which point Komen's top public health official resigned "on the spot."

Four days after the decision to cut ties with Planned Parenthood, Komen reversed the decision and announced that it would amend the policy to "make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political". A few days later, on February 7, 2012, Handel resigned from Komen.

The Los Angeles Times described Komen's decision to cut ties with Planned Parenthood as "one of the great PR faux pas of the decade", with Komen losing 22% of its funding in the subsequent fiscal year. Komen officials attribute much of the lost funding to the decision to cut ties with Planned Parenthood.

Planned Bullyhood

In September 2012, Handel published a book, Planned Bullyhood, about the controversy. In the book, Handel defends Komen's decision to end the grants to Planned Parenthood, writing that Komen sought to restructure the grants and improve their granting process by stopping "pass-through grants" like the grants to Planned Parenthood through Planned Parenthood would then give the money to an organization that performs mammograms. She refers to Planned Parenthood as "a blatantly partisan" group of "bullies" that began a war with Komen over $700,000, an amount of money "inconsequential" to its $1 billion budget. In the book, Handel also claims that numerous options were presented to Komen management and its board, and the board approved phasing out the grants.

2014 election

On May 17, 2013, Handel announced that she would be a candidate for the United States Senate. Incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss did not seek reelection. Handel was endorsed by former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin in March 2014. She lost the primary, finishing third.

2017 special election

Handel is currently a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, running in the 2017 special election to fill a vacancy in Georgia's 6th congressional district. She is running against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff. Former U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss endorsed Handel.

No candidate reached a majority of the vote on April 18, leading to a runoff election on June 20, 2017. Handel finished second in the jungle primary and she will face Ossoff in the runoff. Ossoff received 48.1% of the vote and Handel received 19.8% of the vote. U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated her on advancing to the runoff and she welcomed his support.

Political positions

Abortion

Handel opposes abortion. She favors eliminating government funding for Planned Parenthood. She played a key role in Komen's short-lived decision to defund Planned Parenthood.

Healthcare

Handel favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). She has expressed support for Tom Price's legislation to replace Obamacare. She opposes embryonic stem cell research.

Immigration

Handel opposes the bipartisan Senate "Gang of Eight" bill, which would have provided a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

LGBT rights

Handel opposes same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions. She has voted no on legislation that would give domestic partner benefits. She opposes the adoption of children by gay individuals, stating that it "is not the best household for a child."

References

1. "Komen.org" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-01-26.
2. ^ Kliff, Sarah; Aizenman, N.C. (February 7, 2012). "Komen vice president Karen Handel resigns". The Washington Post.
3. "Karen Handel Biography". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
4. Galloway, J. (June 29, 2009). "On the high-school education of Karen Handel". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
5. Galloway, Jim (2009-07-03). "Karen Handel: 'Yes, I have a high school diploma'". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
6. "Secretary of state candidates not focused on issues". Athens Banner-Herald. 7 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
7. "Handel, candidate for Ga. gov., makes early campaign stop in Carrollton". Times-Georgian. 2009. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
8. Mahoney, Ryan (July 28, 2005). "Business backs Handel for secretary of state". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
9. http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2010/jun/16/karen-handel/did-handel-ever-joing-log-cabin-republicans/
10. Low turnout expected for Georgia runoffs, Associated Press (August 8, 2006).
11. "Official Results of the August 8, 2006 Primary Runoff Election". Georgia Secretary of State. August 15, 2006.
12. Georgia Election Results: Official Results of the Tuesday, November 07, 2006 General Election, Georgia Secretary of State.
13. Secretary of State, New Georgia Encyclopedia (last edited July 25, 2016).
14. "How Recent Changes in Voting Laws Threaten Equal Rights in Georgia" (PDF). Scholars Strategy Network. January 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
15. ^ Abbie Boudreau & Scott Bronstein, Some voters 'purged' from voter rolls, CNN Special Investigations Unit (October 26, 2008).
16. ^ Justice Department Knocks Down Georgia Rule Requiring Voters Prove Citizenship, Fox News (June 2, 2009).
17. March 17, 2017,Kristina Torres,The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
18. Salzer, James (2009-12-22). "Handel quits as Secretary of State, says she's "all in" for governor's race". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
19. "Unofficial And Incomplete Results of the Tuesday, July 20, 2010 General Primary Election", Georgia Secretary of State, 20 July 2010, retrieved 2010-07-25
20. Dewan, Shaila (2010-07-20). "Georgia Will Have Republican Primary Runoff". New York Times. pp. A12. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
21. Vejnoska, Jill (2010-07-25). "Palin nods, and suddenly a Georgia race wakes up". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
22. McCaffrey, Shannon (2010-07-22). "Palin effect rocks Georgia GOP primary". Macon Telegraph. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-07-25. Post-Palin, Handel catapulted to the top of a crowded field in Tuesday's primary election and won a spot in an Aug. 10 GOP runoff — the first woman to emerge from a gubernatorial primary in Georgia history.
23. Ed Hornick Big-time conservatives line up behind rival candidates, CNN (August 10, 2010).
24. ^ "Did Handel ever join the Log Cabin Republicans?". Politifact. June 9, 2010. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
25. ^ "Handel: Gay parents "not in the best interest of the child"". 11alive.com. July 14, 2010. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
26. "8/10/2010 - Governor". Sos.georgia.gov. Retrieved 2017-04-19.
27. "Karen Handel Now Senior VP For Public Policy With Susan G Komen For The Cure". Peach Pundit. April 12, 2011. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
28. Crary, David (January 31, 2012). "Planned Parenthood 'reeling' after losing charity funds". MSNBC. Associated Press. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
29. "Susan G. Komen Foundation pulls Planned Parenthood funding". Retrieved 2017-03-27.
30. Kliff, Sarah (January 28, 2012). "Why Komen defunded Planned Parenthood". Washington Post. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
31. Goldberg, Jeffrey (February 2, 2012). "Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigned Over Planned Parenthood Cave-In". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
32. Bassett, Laura (5 February 2012). "Karen Handel, Susan G. Komen's Anti-Abortion VP, Drove Decision To Defund Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 20 April 2017 – via Huff Post.
33. "Why Komen Backed Down". The New Yorker. 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
34. ^ "Susan G. Komen Foundation discovers the price of playing politics". Los Angeles Times. 2014-01-08. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
35. "Former Susan G. Komen executive who backed Planned Parenthood cut has book coming out in Sept". Washington Post. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
36. ^ Pesta, Abigail (September 5, 2012). "Ex-Komen Official Karen Handel Attacks Planned Parenthood 'Thugs' in New Book". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
37. Camia, Catalina (May 17, 2013). "Ex-Komen exec Karen Handel declares Ga. Senate bid". USA Today.
38. Joseph, Cameron. Palin's bark bigger than her bite?, The Hill, March 29, 2014.
39. "GA - Election Results". Retrieved 20 April 2017.
40. Greg Bluestein, Poll: Jon Ossoff, Karen Handel leading in Georgia special election, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (March 27, 2017).
41. Pathé, Simone. Jon Ossoff, Karen Handel Advance to Runoff in Georgia Special Election, Roll Call, April 19, 2017.
42. "Unofficial Results". Georgia Secretary of State. Atlanta, Georgia. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
43. "Georgia special election goes to runoff as GOP gets wakeup call". CNN. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
44. Levy, Gabrielle (April 19, 2017). "Handel wants Trump's help in Georgia runoff". U.S. News and World Report. Washington, D.C. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
45. ^ Preston, Jennifer (2012-02-07). "After Outcry, Karen Handel Resigns From Komen". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
46. ^ "Issues - Karen Handel for Congress". Karen Handel for Congress. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
47. "Komen vice president Karen Handel resigns". Washington Post. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
48. ^ Eloy, Michell. "State's GOP Senate Hopefuls Square Off In Debate". Retrieved 2017-03-27.
49. Maloy, Simon. "Georgia GOP's Obamacare fiasco: Hypocrisy, evasion and insensitivity". Salon. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
50. "Karen Handel on Abortion". www.ontheissues.org. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
51. "Karen Handel Resigns: 5 Times Ex-Komen VP's Views Ignited Controversy". International Business Times. 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
52. ^ cl_admin (2012-02-06). "Turns Out Komen Vice Pres. Karen Handel is Anti-Gay Everything". Colorlines. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
53. "Georgia GOP Candidate Handel On Why She Doesn't Think Gays Are Suitable Parents: 'Because I Don't'". ThinkProgress. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2017-03-30.

External links

• Karen Handel for Senate
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Template:DMOZ

• 1962 births
• 21st-century women politicians
• American women in business
• County commissioners in Georgia (U.S. state)
• Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans
• Living people
• People from Roswell, Georgia
• People from Upper Marlboro, Maryland
• Secretaries of State of Georgia (U.S. state)
• United States presidential electors, 2004
• Women in Georgia (U.S. state) politics
• 21st-century American politicians
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century businesswomen
• Candidates in United States elections, 2010
• Candidates in United States elections, 2014