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Karen C. Handel (born April 18, 1962) is an American politician and businesswoman 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 December 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 November 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. She had run for commissioner unsuccessfully in November 2002, while serving as the president and CEO of North Fulton County Chamber of Commerce. Handel was a member of the Log Cabin Republicans, a GOP LGBT rights group and was endorsed by them during her election bids. Handel left her position as chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners early to run for Georgia Secretary of State in 2006.

Secretary of State of Georgia

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.

Voter Purge Lawsuit

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. Voter suppression allegations were raised and the rule became 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 (DOJ) 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 program was "flawed ... 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

In March 2009, she announced her decision to run for Georgia governor. 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.

On July 20, 2010, in the 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.

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. She 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.

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 also attributed much of the lost funding to the decision to cut ties with Planned Parenthood.

Planned Bullyhood

On September 11, 2012, Handel published a book, Planned Bullyhood, about the her tenure as vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure. In the book, Handel defended Komen's short-lived decision to end grants to Planned Parenthood. 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.

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. In May 2014, Handel came in third in the Republican Senate primary.

2017 special election

In February 2017, Handel announced she would run 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.

During the April 18, 2017 primary Handel was the top Republican vote-getter in the 6th District race. No candidate reached a majority of the vote, 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.

During primary, Handel "went out of her way not to mention Trump". During the runoff against Ossoff, she has embraced Trump and invoked his name. She has said that she would welcome Trump if he wanted to campaign with her.

Handel voiced support for President Trump's May 10, 2017 firing of FBI Director James Comey, saying it was "probably overdue".

Political positions

Handel describes herself an “unwavering conservative fighter” rather than a “go along to get along” Republican. In the campaign for the 2014 Senate seat, she said that she would be a Senator in the mold of Ted Cruz, and called on Mitch McConnell to resign from the Republican leadership of the Senate. In 2014, Politico described her as "a Palin-style conservative".

Handel favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). She has expressed support for Tom Price's legislation to replace Obamacare. She supported the May 2017 version of the American Health Care Act, the GOP's replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act.

Handel opposes abortion and favors eliminating government funding for Planned Parenthood. She opposes embryonic stem cell research.

Handel has said that the federal government's role in combating climate change should be "limited so that state and local government lead the way."

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. She opposes an automatic path to citizenship, saying, "These immigrants have come to our country and blatantly disregarded our laws. We cannot, we should not reward that. No amnesty. No ability to vote."

Handel opposes same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions. She has voted against 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. Archived from the original on 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2010-07-25. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
4. Galloway, J. (June 29, 2009). "On the high-school education of Karen Handel". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. Galloway, Jim (2009-07-03). "Karen Handel: 'Yes, I have a high school diploma'". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Archived from the original on 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2010-07-26. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
6. "Secretary of state candidates not focused on issues". Athens Banner-Herald. 7 August 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
7. ^ Denery, Jim (April 18, 2017). "Who is Karen Handel?". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia: Cox Media Group LLC. Retrieved May 18, 2017. Her resume also includes leading the Fulton County Commission as its chairwoman; working in the office of Marilyn Quayle, the wife of then-Vice President Dan Quayle; and serving as deputy chief of staff to then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.
8. "Handel, candidate for Ga. gov., makes early campaign stop in Carrollton". Times-Georgian. 2009. {{cite news}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
9. Mahoney, Ryan (July 28, 2005). "Business backs Handel for secretary of state". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
10. http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2010/jun/16/karen-handel/did-handel-ever-joing-log-cabin-republicans/
11. Citizen, Aaron Gould Sheinin asheinin@ajc.comDalton Daily. "Profile: Karen Handel a planner, implemented Voter ID". The Daily Citizen. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
12. Low turnout expected for Georgia runoffs, Associated Press (August 8, 2006).
13. "Official Results of the August 8, 2006 Primary Runoff Election". Georgia Secretary of State. August 15, 2006.
14. Georgia Election Results: Official Results of the Tuesday, November 07, 2006 General Election, Georgia Secretary of State.
15. Secretary of State, New Georgia Encyclopedia (last edited July 25, 2016).
16. ^ Abbie Boudreau & Scott Bronstein, Some voters 'purged' from voter rolls, CNN Special Investigations Unit (October 26, 2008).
17. ^ "Justice Department Knocks Down Georgia Rule Requiring Voters Prove Citizenship", Fox News, June 2, 2009.
18. Kristina Torres, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 17, 2017.
19. Salzer, James (2009-12-22). "Handel quits as Secretary of State, says she's "all in" for governor's race". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2010-07-25. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
20. "Unofficial And Incomplete Results of the Tuesday, July 20, 2010 General Primary Election". Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
21. Dewan, Shaila (2010-07-20). "Georgia Will Have Republican Primary Runoff". New York Times. p. A12. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
22. Vejnoska, Jill (2010-07-25). "Palin nods, and suddenly a Georgia race wakes up". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
23. McCaffrey, Shannon (2010-07-22). "Palin effect rocks Georgia GOP primary". Macon Telegraph. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2010-07-23. 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. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
24. Ed Hornick, Big-time conservatives line up behind rival candidates, CNN.com, August 10, 2010.
25. ^ "Did Handel ever join the Log Cabin Republicans?". Politifact. June 9, 2010. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
26. "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. Goldberg, Jeffrey (February 2, 2012). "Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigned Over Planned Parenthood Cave-In". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
31. Bassett, Laura (February 5, 2012). "Karen Handel, Susan G. Komen's Anti-Abortion VP, Drove Decision To Defund Planned Parenthood". Retrieved April 20, 2017 – via Huff Post.
32. "Why Komen Backed Down". The New Yorker. 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
33. ^ "Susan G. Komen Foundation discovers the price of playing politics". Los Angeles Times. 2014-01-08. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
34. ^ Pesta, Abigail (September 5, 2012). "Ex-Komen Official Karen Handel Attacks Planned Parenthood 'Thugs' in New Book". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
35. Camia, Catalina (May 17, 2013). "Ex-Komen exec Karen Handel declares Ga. Senate bid". USA Today.
36. Joseph, Cameron. Palin's bark bigger than her bite?, The Hill, March 29, 2014.
37. "GA - Election Results". Retrieved April 20, 2017.
38. Greg Bluestein, Poll: Jon Ossoff, Karen Handel leading in Georgia special election, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (March 27, 2017).
39. Pathé, Simone. Jon Ossoff, Karen Handel Advance to Runoff in Georgia Special Election, Roll Call, April 19, 2017.
40. "Unofficial Results". Georgia Secretary of State. Atlanta, Georgia. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
41. "Georgia special election goes to runoff as GOP gets wakeup call". CNN. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
42. 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.
43. ^ Weigel, Elise Viebeck, David. "GOP candidate now embracing Trump in Georgia's 6th District runoff". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-05-10.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
44. ^ "Georgia Sixth: Handel says Comey's firing was 'probably overdue'". Retrieved 2017-05-10.
45. ^ Raju, Manu. "GOP war revived in Georgia". POLITICO. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
46. ^ Eloy, Michell. "State's GOP Senate Hopefuls Square Off In Debate". Retrieved 2017-03-27.
47. "Issues - Karen Handel for Congress". Karen Handel for Congress. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
48. Maloy, Simon. "Georgia GOP's Obamacare fiasco: Hypocrisy, evasion and insensitivity". Salon. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
49. "A 6th District rift over the House healthcare plan in Tom Price's old turf | Political Insider blog". Retrieved 2017-05-10.
50. Drucker, David M. "Republicans: Obamacare repeal won't sink us in 2018". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2017-05-10.
51. ^ Preston, Jennifer (2012-02-07). "After Outcry, Karen Handel Resigns From Komen". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-27.
52. "Karen Handel on Abortion". www.ontheissues.org. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
53. "Karen Handel Resigns: 5 Times Ex-Komen VP's Views Ignited Controversy". International Business Times. 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2017-03-30.
54. ^ "Karen Handel Resigns: 5 Times Ex-Komen VP's Views Ignited Controversy". International Business Times. 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
55. ^ Bluestein, Greg. "A GOP split over climate change opens in Georgia special election | Political Insider blog". Retrieved 2017-05-12.
56. ^ Taylor, Jessica (2014-05-14). "Gingrey: Handel 'promoted teenage homosexuality'". TheHill. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
57. ^ "Republican in Georgia Race Has Anti-LGBT, Antichoice History". 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
58. Sheinin, Aaron Gould. "Handel's challenging past led to deliberate future". ajc. Retrieved 2017-05-21.
59. "Handel is grilled over support for gay rights". Retrieved 2017-05-21.
60. "Deal claims Handel supported gay adoption". @politifact. Retrieved 2017-05-21.

External links

• Karen Handel for Senate
• Template:DMOZ

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• 20th-century American businesspeople
• 20th-century businesswomen
• 21st-century American politicians
• 21st-century women politicians
• American women in business
• Candidates in United States elections, 2010
• Candidates in United States elections, 2014
• 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