A member of the Republican Party, Handel served as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners from 2003 to 2006, as Secretary of State of Georgia from 2007 to 2010, and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019.

[1][2][3] In 2011, Handel was appointed Senior Vice President of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a charity focused on fighting breast cancer.

[4] Handel pushed the charity to cut off Komen's funding for breast-cancer screening at Planned Parenthood, reportedly because of her personal anti-abortion views.

Handel was born Karen Christine Walker[8][9] in Washington, D. C., on April 18, 1962,[10] and grew up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Later, she served as deputy chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle's wife, Marilyn,[15] where she worked to promote breast cancer awareness and research.

[10][15] She had run for commissioner unsuccessfully in November 2002, while serving as the president and CEO of North Fulton County Chamber of Commerce.

[10] Soon after taking office as Georgia Secretary of State, Handel began a project to purge voter rolls.

[23][25] 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 ... [and] 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".

In the 21-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. said that the state had taken a "reasonable and non-discriminatory" approach in trying to reach voters who had not cast a ballot within the past 7 years to confirm their addresses.

Republicans in Congress initiated an investigation into Planned Parenthood's alleged usage of federal funds to finance the organization's abortion services.

[38] 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 that the decision to cut funding to Planned Parenthood was driven by Handel, who opposes abortion.

[42] On September 11, 2012, Handel published a book, Planned Bullyhood, about her tenure as vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

[43] 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.

Julianne Thompson, co-chair of the Atlanta Tea Party, replied to the charge by saying: "One of the most important things we look for in a leader is that person's ability to identify with the citizens they intend to govern.

[10][47] In February 2017, Handel announced a run for U.S. House of Representatives in the 2017 special election, to fill a vacancy in Georgia's 6th congressional district, against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff.

[52] According to The Washington Post, during the primary, Handel avoided mentioning Trump, but embraced him in the general election.

[56][57] Speaker of the House Paul Ryan campaigned for Handel, saying, "We need someone who is tested and true",[58] and Handel was endorsed by the United States Chamber of Commerce, Susan B. Anthony List, National Right to Life Committee, and the NRA Political Victory Fund.

[59][60] On June 15, 2017, Handel's home was the target of a "suspicious package" containing a "white powdery substance" and a threatening letter.

In the May 22 Democratic primary, gun control activist Lucy McBath defeated Kevin Abel, Steven Knight Griffin, and Bobby Kaple.

[78] On June 22, 2018, Handel, while presiding over the House of Representatives, cited House Rule XVII in an attempt to stop California Representative Ted Lieu from playing audio previously published by ProPublica that recorded the voices of children and infants separated from their parents under the Trump administration family separation policy.

[79] The rule cited reads, "A person on the floor of the House may not smoke or use a mobile electronic device that impairs decorum.

[83] During the 115th Congress, Handel's votes aligned with President Donald Trump’s preferred positions 98.4% of the time, according to political reporting website FiveThirtyEight's online tracker.

[95][96] Handel said, "I reject the premise of CBO", referring to the Congressional Budget Office estimate that 23 million more Americans would be uninsured if the May 2017 version of AHCA were to become law.

[98] In a June 2017 debate, Handel stated that she opposed a minimum wage, saying, "This is an example of a fundamental difference between a liberal and a conservative.

"[86][96] Handel stated, "The private sector creates good paying jobs when we have a robust economy, with lower taxes and less regulation.

[100] Handel opposed the bi-partisan Senate "Gang of Eight" bill, which would have provided a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

[102][103] In 2018, Handel received a 0% score from NARAL Pro-Choice America for her voting record on abortion-related issues.

When she ran for governor in 2010, her campaign circulated a photo of her using a rifle during a visit to an arms plant in Columbus, Georgia.