ATLANTA – The Associated Press is says Republican Nathan Deal has beaten Democrat Roy Barnes in the race for governor. Republican Nathan Deal was holding onto his early lead late Tuesday over Democrat Roy Barnes in the race for Georgia’s next governor.
Deal led Barnes consistently throughout the count Tuesday. If the final tally shows Deal with more than 50 percent of the vote, no runoff will be necessary in the race to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Libertarian John Monds was garnering 4 percent of the vote.
Polls predicted a close race, and a runoff was possible if no candidate earned 50 percent plus one vote.
The race largely shaped up as a choice between Deal, a longtime congressman from north Georgia who pledged to stick to his conservative credentials and keep taxes low, and Barnes, the former one-term governor ousted by Perdue in 2002 who vowed to end teacher furloughs and reduce the state’s high unemployment rate.