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ROSWELL, Ga. Republicans set to vote in a crucial special congressional election are sticking by President Trump and Karen Handel, the GOP nominee, unmoved by the daily drumbeat of scandal from the White House.

In interviews Wednesday, Republicans in this upscale Atlanta suburb said they weren't concerned about the Senate testimony of James Comey or implications that Trump acted improperly in firing him as FBI director because of a desire to kill an investigation into his possible Russia ties.

Although there is lingering discomfort with Trump's habit of opining and picking fights on Twitter, staunch Republicans here generally view the president as a Washington outsider who is learning on the job and will get better.

They expect he'll have more bumps in the road in the months ahead, but that isn't diminishing their support for him or, significantly, Handel, who is running to fill the area's vacant House seat in a toss-up campaign.

"He could tone down the tweets and put more emphasis on the issues. But the issues that he's pushing forward are issues I support," said Bob Anderson, 70, who voted for Ohio Gov. John Kasich in Georgia's 2016 Republican presidential primary. "I don't think that there's any pro-Russian agenda on the part of the Trump administration, and I think that's been demonstrated so far."

Comey was scheduled to testify Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee about the circumstances surrounding Trump's decision to dismiss him as FBI director.

In his opening statement publicized Wednesday, Comey suggested that Trump acted improperly in urging him to drop an investigation into Michael Flynn, a top Trump campaign surrogate and the president's former national security adviser, over his contacts with Russian officials.

That ongoing saga has engulfed Washington, and Trump's national approval ratings have taken a hit. Republicans working to elect Handel are concerned. Trump won the 6th Congressional District by only 1.5 points, even as Tom Price, now Health and Human Services secretary, was elected with more than 60 percent.

Indeed, Democrat Jon Ossoff narrowly led Handel in the latest polling averages with less than two weeks to go until the June 20 election. An Ossoff victory would send shockwaves through Washington. This suburban district, white collar, traditionally Republican but skeptical of Trump, is the sort Democrats have to win in 2018 to have a shot at a House takeover.

But traditional and reliable GOP voters remain satisfied with Trump and are motivated to participate, even though they would prefer more action from the Republican majorities on Capitol Hill. They're lining up behind Handel. Many, like Marie Shubert, 79, cast their vote early.

"She's a Republican, and we need all the help we can get in Washington," said Shubert, who backed Trump in the 2016 primary. "President Trump is doing OK. He's doing, as a matter of fact, very well. He's getting a lot of things done that are good for the country good for us. The Congress not so much. I'm very disappointed."

"They're taking so long with everything," she added. "Just like this Obamacare. I'm so disappointed because they had 10 years to fix it, and they always said they would fix it, and they always said they had a bill, but in the end they didn't."

The Washington Examiner spoke with a collection of Republican voters Wednesday afternoon while tagging along with a field canvasser volunteering in Roswell for the Congressional Leadership Fund, the GOP super PAC affiliated with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

The wealthy community, with homes ranging from more than $100,000 to more than $1 million, is situated in the more conservative, northern end of the 6th District, which has been held by the GOP for four decades.

Fidelity to the Republican Party in this area is not surprising. The voters here are conservative and established, as compared with the more moderate Republican transplants to the area who live closer to downtown Atlanta.

But it's notable.

These are not the poor, thinly educated working-class voters so often associated as unshakably loyal to Trump. They own well-appointed homes, built on large lots adjacent to leafy streets.

As with the blue-collar voters credited with propelling Trump to victory in November, ethical clouds surrounding Comey's firing and the Russia investigation haven't diminished their enthusiasm for Trump and the potential they see in him.

Nearly five months in, Brenda Jimmerson, 70, gives Trump a grade of "middle of the road."

"But he's not a politician," she said. "It's his first time in office. He went into it for what I consider to be the right reasons. And if everybody that takes a new job starts out perfectly takes a new job, I would be surprised."

Jimmerson's main complaint? "Some of his tweets need to be contained," she said.

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Republican voters sticking with Trump ahead of James Comey ... - Washington Examiner