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.”