By Blake Aued
blake.aued@onlineathens.com
While other Republican candidates for governor are ripping each other to shreds, Eric Johnson is hoping that staying above the fray will propel him into a runoff.
Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal are both attacking former Secretary of State Karen Handel, alleging that she supports gay rights, is insufficiently anti-abortion and spent freely as Fulton County Commission chairwoman – charges Handel denies and says are signs of desperation from her opponents.
Meanwhile, Johnson, the former leader of the state Senate, is calling on the three to knock it off and put the focus back on jobs.