Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Politics GA runoffs results: Deal boasts slight lead over Handel, but...
Posted by Thomas Wheatley @thomaswheatley on Tue, Aug 10, 2010 at 11:56 PM
- Illustration by Joeff Davis
- Deal and Handel, not so different after all?
We suppose we'll find out tomorrow which lucky Republican gets to joust with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Roy Barnes come November.
After a nail-biter of a vote count on Tuesday night, Deal led Handel by only 2,489 votes. The two candidates — who've been at each others' throats throughout the three-week race — called it quits for the evening shortly after 11 p.m. to allow election officials more time to finish the counts.
"We’re still waiting," Deal told supporters at the Gainesville Civic Center. "We’re still ahead in numbers. But we’re encouraged by the totals that we see. It’s too early for us to say more than that. We hope they’ll hold."
Handel acknowledged at the Buckhead W that the race was close — but reminded supporters that not all precincts had reported and some ballots had yet to be counted.
"This was a great campaign," Handel told supporters. "And if you remember when we started this, no one thought we'd be able to come this far. So let's keep the faith."
So think of it like Christmas. Come morning you might be delightfully surprised or incredibly disappointed.
More results, including runoffs for the state attorney general, insurance commissioner and Fulton County Commission, after the jump.
State Rep. Georganna Sinkfield, D-Atlanta steamrolled Gail Buckner 62-38 to earn the Democratic secretary of state nomination. Sinkfield in November faces incumbent Brian Kemp, a former Republican state senator appointed to office by Gov. Sonny Perdue after Karen Handel resigned to focus on her gubernatorial campaign, and Libertarian David Chastain.
Former Cobb County Chairman Sam Olens walloped state Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome, to become the Republican nominee for attorney general. He faces Democratic nominee Ken Hodges and Libertarian nominee Don Smart in November.
State Sen. Ralph Hudgens, R-Hull, beat attorney Maria Sheffield in the Republican runoff for insurance commissioner. The state lawmaker and small businessman — who's earned a Golden Sleaze or two in the past — goes on to face Democratic nominee Mary Squires and Libertarian Shane Bruce in the General Election.
Nonprofit executive Tim Echols trumped state Sen. John Douglas, R-Social Circle to snag the Republican nomination for Public Service Commission's 2nd District. Echols goes on to face Democratic nominee Keith Moffett and Libertarian Jim Sendelbach in November.
Closer to home, Joan Garner easily defeated Keisha Waites in the Democratic runoff for Fulton County Commissioner. Garner also made a little bit of history in the process by becoming the first openly gay member on the commission. No Republican stepped up for the race, so say hello to your new elected official.
Comments (4)
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Not that I want either to win...but Handle was WAY too anti-gay...the world is moving on without you Karen...maybe you should have wore more lipstick!
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The runoff for the Republican nomination might be too close to call. However, Nathan Deal will more than likely hold on to his slim lead and edge out Sec. Handel. It does not appear that support for her campaign was as strong as it should have been in her natural home base of Fulton County.
The race for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State was very interesting. Gail Buckner's name was on the ballot, but where was her campaign? I only saw two yard signs for her during this entire race. I never received any literature in the mail or any of those annoying robo-calls from her as I usually receive from Democratic candidates. Why enter a race if you're not going to campaign vigorously to win it?
This just in: Karen Handel has just conceded the Republican nomination for governor to Nathan Deal, even though some votes are still outstanding and the two candidates are separated by less than a percentage point. Ms. Handel appears to have already decided not to request a recount, which might become an option if the final tallies remain sufficiently close.
Many of the hundreds of thousands of Handel supporters might be somewhat disappointed by this seemingly premature concession. However, it is probably in the best interest of the GOP that the party go ahead and unite right now in anticipation of the upcoming battle with Governor Barnes, who has had the luxury of not having to deal with any nasty runoff campaign over the past three weeks.
By the way, Handel's apparent defeat somewhat diminishes the prestige of Sarah Palin, who came to this state twice to endorse this failed campaign.
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