By Greg Bluestein, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution–

Democrat Jon Ossoff is headed for a runoff in June against a Republican contender after failing Tuesday to score an upset victory to represent a suburban Atlanta district in Congress.

CNN called the race just after midnight.

The 30-year-old investigative filmmaker aimed for an outright win in the 6th District race, but a furious Republican counterattack joined by President Donald Trump appears to have kept him under 50 percent.

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  • A Democratic victory would be an embarrassing defeat in a district held for decades by Republicans, and Trump’s opponents would have cast it as a devastating rebuke to his administration. Republicans downplayed the implications, saying Ossoff benefited from a cocktail of money, national attention and enthusiasm that’s nearly impossible to replicate.

He goes into a June 20 runoff against Karen Handel, a Republican who will try to unify the party after vicious weeks of internal GOP feuding.

Ossoff outperformed Hillary Clinton in Cobb and DeKalb counties and was running ahead of Clinton’s numbers in Fulton County as well.