Tight race set to follow rough runoff in Georgia

By ROBBIE BROWN

c.2010 New York Times News Service

ATLANTA - Republican politicians in Georgia tried Wednesday to rally voters behind their party's nominee for governor, former Rep. Nathan Deal, after he narrowly won a divisive runoff election.

Deal, 67, a nine-term congressman, defeated Karen Handel, a former secretary of state, by less than 1 percent of the vote Tuesday. With 99 percent of votes counted, Deal led by about 2,500 votes out of nearly 600,000 cast. Even though provisional ballots and military and overseas ballots were still being counted, Handel conceded defeat Wednesday morning and endorsed Deal against the Democratic nominee, former Gov. Roy Barnes.

"The best thing for our party is to rally around Congressman Deal as our nominee in the fight against Roy Barnes," she wrote in an e-mail to supporters. "I spoke with Nathan this morning and let him know that I endorse his candidacy and look forward to the fight against Barnes."

Polls before the primary predicted a close race in the general election between Barnes and either Deal or Handel. Political experts believe Deal has a slight advantage in the solidly conservative Southern state, especially in an election year that is expected to be tough for Democrats.

The Republican runoff was contentious, with Deal's campaign accusing Handel of being insufficiently conservative on same-sex marriage and abortion and Handel calling Deal a "corrupt relic of Washington" and chiding him to "put on his big-boy pants."

The race drew endorsements from several possible 2012 presidential candidates, with Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice-presidential candidate and former Alaska governor, campaigning for Handel, and Deal receiving endorsements from Mike Huckabee, the former presidential candidate and Arkansas governor, and Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.

The impact of Palin's endorsement was unclear. While her support has lifted the campaigns of other conservative women - including Nikki Haley, who is running for governor in South Carolina, and Sharron Angle, running for the Senate in Nevada - it did not provide the same assistance to Handel.

"This certainly takes some of the luster out of the Palin endorsements generally," said Charles S. Bullock III, a political scientist at the University of Georgia.

Republican leaders rallied behind Deal on Wednesday.

"Our Republican family has nominated an outstanding candidate for governor," said Gov. Sonny Perdue, who is blocked by term limits from seeking re-election.

Deal faces continued scrutiny over an Office of Congressional Ethics report in March that he had supported a Georgia program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for his family's auto salvage business.

Upcoming Events