Roy Barnes ran away with the Democratic nomination for governor, and I would be glad to have him in office again. I voted for former Attorney General Thurbert Baker, however, because he is a good and honorable man; and I wanted to thank him for his principled stand against Sonny Purdue's pressure to add Georgia to the states whose AGs are suing the federal government over the health care reform bill.
The politically interesting race was the Republican primary. Oxendine had been front runner all along, polling first with 30% just 10 days ago but finishing in fourth place with only 17%. Most likely he was riding on name recognition and impressive fund-raising until voters really began to focus on the other candidates in the final two weeks.
Did Sarah Palin's endorsement of Karen Handel swing the vote for her? If so, she has demonstrated an amazing political power that she wields with Republican voters. All she did was endorse Handel on her (Palin's) face book page and then record a robo call that reached 400,000 Republican voters just before the election. She didn't make a joint appearance or hold a fund-raiser. And, except that she is a woman, Handel would not seem Palin's natural choice from this group. Although moving to the right for this election, Handel is easily the most liberal of the pack.
Not to be out-celebrity-ed, Nathan Deal got a late endorsement from Newt Gingrich. Did this help him leap into second place? He had been vying for third in the polls.
Both endorsements are getting a lot of play in the news. Huffington Post headlined it on their news home page -- leading me to wonder about the run-off. Here's my prediction:
Palin and Gingrich -- rivals for de facto leadership of the Republican base -- will use this race as a surrogate contest between them, a test of strength. I predict each will visit the state and make a joint appearance (Palin with Handel, Gingrich with Deal) before the run-off. Even if neither Palin nor Gingrich winds up as the presidential nominee in 2012, this could be a test of their king-maker power.
Ralph
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Nathan Deal, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich - what a lineup! My Congressman, Nathan Deal, is both morally and intellectually challenged. I don't know much about Karen Handel, but if this is the kind of company she keeps, we're in trouble. I'm pulling for Roy whose only sin was changing the flag...
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