Trump Raises $750,000 For Karen Handel In Atlanta Visit

ATLANTA, GA -- President Donald Trump came to Atlanta Friday with a two-fold purpose: to bolster his base by speaking at the National Rifle Association annual convention -- and to buoy the surging political campaign of 6th Congressional District Republican candidate Karen Handel. It's safe to say, Trump succeeded on both fronts.

At the Capital City Club in downtown Atlanta, the president appeared at a Friday afternoon fundraiser for Handel that invited some of the biggest GOP donors in the state. Trump helped the former Secretary of State raise about $750,000, her campaign announced.

“I am honored to have President Trump’s support in this election,” Handel said. “Like President Trump, I too have a record of shaking things up and if elected to Congress I hope to work with him to get things done. It is time we stop the talking in Washington and start to look towards governing.”

Handel needs the cash in what is on pace to be the most expensive House race in the nation's history. Her opponent, first-time candidate and Democrat Jon Ossoff, raised a startling $8.3 million in his run-up to the April 18 special election, falling just short of winning it outright and turning the 6th District -- a swath of affluent suburban Atlanta encompassing parts of Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb -- from red to blue.

As Ossoff's war chest has continued to grow, Handel, whose earlier campaign was diluted by a plethora of Republicans running for the same seat, is starting to catch up. Earlier this week, the Paul Ryan-connected PAC Congressional Leadership Fund vowed to spend $2.5 million in TV advertising beginning May 10 for Handel. She can also depend on the National Republican Congressional Committee, which debuted an anti-Ossoff ad the day after the April 18 special election.

On Friday, Trump flew into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport about 1 p.m. and met Handel, her husband and Gov. Nathan and Sandra Deal on the tarmac before they were all whisked away in limos headed for downtown.

At Woodruff Park, demonstrators staged a die-in to illustrate gun deaths less than a quarter of a mile away from the NRA convention at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Trump addressed 40,000 people at the NRA convention, trumpeting his accomplishments in an hour-long speech that touched on gun rights, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Sessions and, yes, the political dogfight the Republicans have found themselves in in the 6th District race.

Watch Replay: President Trump Speaks At NRA Convention In Atlanta

Seconds into his speech, Trump addressed Handel's race against Ossoff.

"I'd like to congratulate Karen Handel for her incredible fight in Georgia 6," Trump said. He added that Handel was "totally for the NRA, totally for gun rights." He then went on to criticize the fact that Ossoff, a 30-year-old investigative filmmaker, doesn't reside in the 6th District.He also chided the Georgia Republican Party for having 11 candidates in the April 18 special election running for one 6th District seat. He said "let's not have" that again ... "it's too nerve-shattering."

Eighteen candidates -- five Democrats, two independents, and yes, 11 Republicans -- ran in a April 19 special election for the seat vacated by former U.S. Rep. Tom Price, who is now the nation's health secretary.

Ossoff and Handel face off in a June 20 runoff, which will be closely watched by Washington and much of the nation.

Image via Scott Olson / Staff / Getty Images News