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The Red & Black | Wednesday, November 8, 2006 | 3
TOM O’CONNOR | The Red d Black
▲ Gov. Sonny Perdue celebrates his reelection with his
granddaughter during the Republican election night rally.
PERDUE: Stickers say
‘Dawgs for Sonny’
Ga. Dems holding slight leads
JOHN BAZEMORE | Associated Press
A Rep. Jim Marshall poses with Emily Jones during an election night party in Macon
Tuesday night. Marshall was leading Republican challenger Mac Collins.
>- From Page 1
returns, chanting “Sonny,
Sonny” as they awaited the
governor's arrival. At the
Taylor campaign party,
onlookers appeared more
interested in watching
Democratic wins elsewhere in
the country than monitoring
their candidate's lackluster
numbers.
Supporters packed into
the ballroom including many
who wore “Dawgs for Sonny”
stickers.
“It’s going to be a slam
dunk for sure,” said Brandy
McClain, a recent University
alumni who came out to show
her support for Sonny.
Taylor’s concession
speech, broadcast at the
Perdue party, was met with
cries of “blowout” from
Perdue backers. Others
hugged each other and
clinked wine glasses and beer
bottles.
Taylor, meanwhile, talked
of unity. “Now it’s our mission
to unite all Georgians, one
people working together for
the common good of all
Georgia,” he said.
Minutes later, flanked by
his family, Perdue took the
stage and promised to be a
good steward of the gover
nor’s office for the next four
years.
“We aren’t governing, we
aren’t doing this for this elec
tion,” he said. “We’re doing
this for the next generation of
Georgians.”
“The Big Guy,” as Taylor
calls himself to play up his
300-pound frame, had tried to
gain traction by accusing the
governor of consistently cut
ting school funding and
health care money and using
his office to grow his personal
wealth.
“He made more money in
four years as Governor
Perdue than he made in 54
years as Sonny Perdue,”
Taylor said Sunday night in
the third and final
debate between the candi
dates.
In particular, Taylor
pounded Perdue for signing a
tax law that ultimately
allowed Perdue to avoid pay
ing $100,000 in state taxes,
and also for failing to have the
state purchase a nature pre
serve near his home in
Houston County.
Contributing:
— Jessica Levine
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Two
House Democrats held slight
leads Tuesday over seasoned
Republican opponents in
Georgia, where the tight
races gave the GOP a shot at
offsetting losses elsewhere
that might cost them control
of Congress.
Two former congressmen
seeking comebacks forced
Reps. John Barrow and Jim
Marshall into two of the
state’s closest elections.
Barrow faced a rematch
with Max Burns of Sylvania,
who narrowly lost eastern
Georgia’s 12th District to
Barrow in 2004. Meanwhile,
Marshall ran for a third term
in middle Georgia’s 8th
District against Mac Collins,
who gave up his House seat
in 2004 for an unsuccessful
Senate campaign. Through
redistricting, Collins’ home
town of Jackson was moved
into Marshall’s district.
With 71 percent of
precincts reporting, Barrow
had 51.4 percent of the vote
to Burns’ 48.6 percent.
With 67 percent of
precincts reporting in the
state’s other competitive
House district, Marshall led
with 51 percent to Collins’ 49
percent.
“The polls have closed
and two months of agony
have passed,” Marshall said
at an election night party in
downtown Macon, referring
to the negative ads that
characterized the race.
ATLANTA — The nation’s
longest-serving agriculture
chief appeared poised to
return for four more years
Tuesday as 77-year-old
Tommy Irvin was one of the
few Democrats who fared
well in statewide elections.
Republicans were on the
brink of taking the offices of
lieutenant governor and sec
retary of state for the first
time in modern political his
tory.
State Sen. Casey Cagle
held a solid lead in his bid to
become Georgia’s first
Republican lieutenant gover
nor and Fulton County
Commission Chairwoman
Karen Handel appeared to
Barrow, of Savannah, and
Marshall, of Macon, both
tout records as conservative
Democrats willing to vote
against their party on issues
such as immigration and the
Iraq war.
Burns, 57, served one term
in Congress before losing his
seat in 2004 to Barrow, an
attorney and former Athens-
Clarke County commission
er. Six months later, Burns
announced he would run
be in line to take the job of
secretary of state.
Wins by the two
Republicans would flip parti
san control of state offices
vacated by the Democrats
who had tried to become
governor. Lt. Gov. Mark
Taylor, the Democratic nom
inee, defeated Secretary of
State Cathy Cox in the July
primary. Taylor lost to
Gov. Sonny Perdue on
Tuesday.
With 66 percent of the
vote in, Irvin led Republican
challenger Gary Black 54.6
percent to 42 percent, with
roughly 3 percent going to
Libertarian Jack Cashin.
Cagle, 40, of Gainesville,
again.
Last year, the GOP-led
state Legislature redrew the
12th District to carve out
Athens — Barrow’s home
town and a Democratic base
— and trade it for 11 conser
vative-leaning rural counties.
The changes prompted
Barrow to move to
Savannah. The district is
now bordered roughly by its
two largest cities, Savannah
and Augusta, as well as
led Democrat Jim Martin, a
former lawmaker and direc
tor of the state Department
of Human Resources, with 56
percent of the vote, with 66
percent of precincts report
ing.
Handel, 44, of Roswell,
had a solid lead over state
House member Gail
Buckner, a Democrat, for the
mostly clerical position of
overseeing state elections,
handing out business and
professional licenses, and
maintaining the state
archives.
Republican schools
Superintendent Kathy Cox
easily bested former
Congresswoman Denise
Majette in her re-election
bid, getting more than 60
percent of the vote.
Milledgeville and Vidalia.
In the state’s other House
races, nine of Georgia’s 13
congressmen easily won re-
election over token opposi
tion, while Democratic Rep.
John Lewis ran unopposed.
In the 4th District, just east
of Atlanta, Hank Johnson —
who defeated Rep. Cynthia
McKinney in the Democratic
primary — won the seat over
Republican Catherine Davis.
— Associated Press
In other statewide races,
Attorney General Thurbert
Baker, a Democrat, was lead
ing Republican challenger
Perry McGuire in early
returns.
Michael Thurmond, also a
Democrat, looked prepared
to defend his post as labor
commissioner against
Republican Brent Brown,
and Republican incumbent
John Oxendine defeated
Democrat Guy Drexinger in
the race for insurance com
missioner.
Oxendine, who had
announced plans to run for
lieutenant governor before
changing his mind and seek
ing re-election, said he may
be seeking higher office in
four years.
— Associated Press
GOP poised to win several state races
But Democrat Irvin did well
"I presume you're mortal,
and may err."
- James Shirly (1635) |
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