Handel concedes GOP nomination for governor to Deal
Update 2:49 p.m.: Gov. Sonny Perdue has now weighed in as well. While it was long rumored that he would support Karen Handel for the nomination, the outgoing governor stayed cautiously on the sidelines in the primary and the runoff. Now, he’s welcoming Deal to the fold.
Here’s his statement:
“Our Republican family has nominated an outstanding candidate for Governor.
“Nathan Deal has worked tirelessly to represent our Georgia values in Washington against the forced liberal agenda pushed by Roy Barnes’ allies such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and John Edwards. The refusal of those leaders to listen to the will of the people on critical issues such as out-of-control spending and health care mandates simply reminds Georgians about the way Barnes ruled imperially here before 2003.
“In contrast, Nathan is a common-sense conservative who has consistently represented the principles and beliefs of our state’s citizens. Unlike his opponent, Nathan Deal listens first and talks second. Now it is time for our family to come together and keep Georgia moving forward.”
Original post:
Yesterday, Karen Handel called Nathan Deal a “corrupt relic of Washington.” Today, however, Handel said she is endorsing him as the GOP nominee for governor.
In a statement just released from the Handel campaign, she said she called Deal this morning to concede the nomination.The November ballot is now set. Deal will represent the GOP and face Democrat Roy Barnes and Libertarian John Monds.
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson said that U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., coordinated the phone call between Handel and Deal.
“They had a very good talk,” Robinson said. “Nathan congratulated her on a great campaign. She told him that she would not ask for a recount and that she would be on board to help the party to victory in November.”
Deal, Robinson said, “thanked her for her graciousness and said he looked forward to meeting with her in person.We thank her for putting the party first and saving us a lot of heartache. She has shown that she is putting Georgia first and we are greatly appreciative of her selflessness in this situation.”
Barnes issued a statement Wednesday at noon congratulating Deal.
“But it doesn’t matter who my opponent is, this election is about the serious issues facing all Georgians, not the out-of-state endorsements and sideline issues that the other team has used to divide voters,” Barnes said in a statement.
Earlier Wednesday, Deal appeared at a GOP “unity breakfast” in Buckhead, but Handel did not. But her statement this morning is clearly aimed at healing a party battered by months of a tough primary campaign and a brutal three-week runoff. Barnes, meanwhile, cruised to victory over six other opponents in the Democratic primary. While other Democrats, particularly House Minority Leader DuBose Porter, D-Dublin, took their shots at Barnes, that contest never reached the level of contention the GOP race.
AJC photographer John Spink said the room at the GOP breakfast was packed with at least 200 people. The GOP faithful warned that Barnes, the Democrat who lost to Sonny Perdue eight years ago, has wasted no time in launching an ad campaign against Republicans.
The event at 103 West on West Paces Ferry Road had the feel of a convention, with both winners and losers in Tuesday’s runoff encouraging the party to stay together to defeat Barnes in November.
Deal was one of the last speakers at the breakfast. He had already made the rounds at TV studios, where he expressed “cautious optimism” that he will be named the winner. At the breakfast, however, Deal spoke more confidently that he would prevail.
Deal called Handel, who did not attend the breakfast, a “worthy opponent.”
Although Deal was the most prominent candidate at the event, the one getting one of the longest standing ovations was state Rep. Melvin Everson, an African-American lawmaker who campaigned for labor commissioner but lost to state Rep. Mark Butler in the July 20 primary.
Everson brought the crowd to its feet after calling for party unity and then introducing his primary opponent. Butler will face Democrat Darryl Hicks in the November election.
Handel and Deal ended Tuesday night’s runoff election separated by fewer than 2,500 votes, or .04 percent. An unknown number of absentee ballots and overseas military votes had yet to be counted, but Handel said the “best thing for our party is to rally around” Deal and fight Democratic nominee Roy Barnes.
Here is Handel’s full statement:
“I want to thank all of my friends, supporters, volunteers and my campaign team for a tremendous effort over the last 16 months. We ran a terrific campaign, beat the odds to come in first place in the Primary, and came so very close in the runoff election.
“As of this morning, we are four tenths of a percentage point behind Nathan Deal with absentee ballots and overseas military votes yet to be counted.
“We certainly have the option of requesting the automatic statewide recount. But we are not going to do that.
“The best thing for our party is to rally around Congressman Deal as our nominee in the fight against Roy Barnes. Barnes would return Georgia to a past that is best kept in our rearview mirror. We must marshal all of our resources to defeat him.
“I spoke with Nathan this morning and let him know that I endorse his candidacy and look forward to the fight against Barnes. I have also called on all who were supporting me to give their same commitment and energy to Nathan.
I thank the people of Georgia for the opportunity to serve them and for allowing me to interview for the job of Governor. This was an amazing journey, and the friendships that Steve and I made enriched our lives immeasurably. I look forward to finding a way to serve this great state in the future.”
Republicans around the country are now weighing in. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele said in a statement that “there is no doubt that Georgians will rally behind the pro-growth, limited government agenda of Nathan Deal.”
State Republican Party chairwoman Sue Everhart, meanwhile, congratulated Deal.
“In this time of economic uncertainty when each Georgian is concerned about their future, it is important that we elect leaders that understand solutions won’t come from more government bureaucracy, debt and taxes. Congressman Deal will partner with Georgians as we move our state forward,” Everhart said in a statement.
The Republican Governors Association also commended the candidates.
“Nathan Deal brings a strong conservative voice to the race for governor,” RGA political director Paul Bennecke said in a statement.
Democrats, too, responded. Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association said Deal can’t be called a “winner.”
“A vicious runoff and the narrowest of margins produced the worst possible nominee in Georgia: a corrupt Washington insider,” Daschle said in a statement.”
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474 comments Add your comment
I can see Russia from my front door
August 11th, 2010
5:26 pm
Good riddance Karen.
george "gump" bush the liar
August 11th, 2010
5:27 pm
@MMMM, MMMM, MMM
I WAS TOUGH ON defense too…terroriss only killed 3000 AMERICANS, knocked down the twin towers and crashed 3 planes on my watch…OBAMA is a wuss…lol
ROY BARNES ....for GOVERNOR
August 11th, 2010
5:27 pm
wisdom
moderation
justice
drug addict LIMBAUGH
August 11th, 2010
5:28 pm
ANYBODY GOT any drugs…
Ronald Raygun
August 11th, 2010
5:29 pm
Roy Barnes …….for Masonic Prince of Georgia !
mmm, mmm, mmm Barack the LIAR Obama
August 11th, 2010
5:29 pm
george “gump” bush the liar
-War is hell, their will be casualities. Just think if slick Willie had taken care of business first instead of blowing up an asprin factory while getting a nob job from Monica.
Republicans for Roy Barnes
August 11th, 2010
5:30 pm
Wake Up !
…………….. Georgia
sarah palin
August 11th, 2010
5:30 pm
hey NATHAN DEAL, call me
frugal voter
August 11th, 2010
5:33 pm
So…. only one sleaze was eliminated from the running. I’m sorry, but I cannot vote for Deal. I never intended to vote for Barnes. That leaves Monds. Perhaps if he can force a run-off it will send a message to both of the losers.
CHRISTIAN
August 11th, 2010
5:33 pm
@mmmm, mmm
dont blame CLINTON cause COWBOY BUSHY got tricked by a terrorist in a cave…thank god OBAMA’s not weak and gulliable like DUBYA was…
OSAMA
August 11th, 2010
5:34 pm
wheres my friend george bush?…i sure miss him..
Once Again, Media Over- Estimates Palin and Her Mama Grizzlies
August 11th, 2010
5:39 pm
[...] Handel, the Palin endorsed and pushed GOP Georgia Governor candidate, conceded today after losing to primary opponent Nathan Deal, who was endorsed by Mitt Romney. So Mitt [...]
JerryFrom GA
August 11th, 2010
5:50 pm
Are the libs on here that delusional to believe a Democrat can win a statewide race in Georgia? C’mon, stop smoking the wackey tabackey. Barnes loses big. Sure, the blacks will vote for him and maybe the libs around Atlanta will, so that means he still losing 60-40.
OSAMA
August 11th, 2010
5:59 pm
i’m more popular than SARAH PALIN right now…lol
SouthwestGeorgiaConstitutionalConservative
August 11th, 2010
6:03 pm
Screw Roy Barnes! He sucked during his first time as governor; why would anybody want to give him another chance to make things even worse? Nathan Deal will be the next Governor of Georgia. While I would have preferred Karen Handel, I will enthusiastically support Nathan Deal in November. The Dems are going to get eviscerated across the boards in this Fall’s mid-term elections. I predict that the GOP will pick up AT LEAST 50 to 60 seats (maybe more) in the U.S. House, AT LEAST 7 or 8 seats (maybe more) in the U.S. Senate, add AT LEAST 8 more to the GOP’s majority of governorships, and very likely win the lion’s share of pick ups in the state legislative elections (thereby getting to control the redrawing of congressional districts!). Then, in November of 2012 we finally put an end to “Jimmy Carter Redux (delayed by 30 years)!” It is definitely NOT about race and it’s NOT just about the economy. IT”S THE IDEOLOGY, STUPID!
OSAMA
August 11th, 2010
6:08 pm
@southwestgeorgia
didnt y’all say the repubs would have a permanent super majority?…how did that turn oyt for ya
Dan Dawg
August 11th, 2010
6:09 pm
Karen Handel blew this election with the mailer sent out last week. It was 4 pages of nothing but slander. my family members were supporters until we read all of the trash in that flier. I think it had a very negative effect on her.
Margaret
August 11th, 2010
6:29 pm
Does everyone associated with Sarah Palin quit!
OSAMA
August 11th, 2010
6:32 pm
i love sarah palin,,,shes even more stupider than george “gump” bush
Nighthawk Tyrone
August 11th, 2010
6:33 pm
@JerryFrom Ga I see your redneck is coming out already
outspoken1
August 11th, 2010
6:35 pm
I say, come on Georgia…..Let’s DEAL with it and keep a Republican in office.
I SAY AGAIN AND AGAIN….IF BARNSEY COULD DO IT, HE WOULD HAVE DONE IT.
HE DIDN’T AND HE CAN’T….
Nighthawk Tyrone
August 11th, 2010
6:37 pm
The reason Karen lost is because she had a quit”r speak’n with her.
Nighthawk Tyrone
August 11th, 2010
6:41 pm
Answer this question Jerryfromga what have sonny did for Ga. Please tell me.
Nighthawk Tyrone
August 11th, 2010
6:46 pm
Have you guys ever sit back and just hear Sarah instead of listen to her. The lady is as fake as the come. Please when she speak again hear her and you will know what I am saying is true.
Dalton Dawg
August 11th, 2010
6:47 pm
Handel lost because of her association with the Log Cabin gay group and not having a college education!!
Nighthawk Tyrone
August 11th, 2010
6:58 pm
There is one thing I know it want matter who is Gov of Ga this redneck state will never change. I will vote but my wallet will look the same this time next year. Jerryfromga I can bet you money on that. You also will be just as poor as you are now.
ROWHOO
August 11th, 2010
7:08 pm
We hadn’t fergot what roy did to our flag.
Chris
August 11th, 2010
7:43 pm
Rowhoo: Later today I’m going to think of you and burn a Confederate flag. You and the rest of the flaggers seriously need to move on already.
Chris
August 11th, 2010
7:46 pm
Nathan Deal is a crook, he belongs in a prison.
Chris
August 11th, 2010
7:47 pm
Anybody else think that Nathan Deal is a lifetime member of the log cabin Republicans? You know what they say: Usually the most vocal gay opponents have a little something to hide themselves…
gigi
August 11th, 2010
7:52 pm
Good Luck Nathan Deal and GA – with the current incompetent democratic congress and President the last thing we need is Purdue adding to the mess. What have the dem’s done for you except raise unemployment, raise taxes, raise debt, raise level of corruption and decrease the value of the dollar.
old man
August 11th, 2010
7:55 pm
@JerryFrom GA
“This is the reddest of the red states.”
It seems odd to me that most Georgians take such pride in being on the right wing fringe of the United States. I guess everyone else in the country is wrong, and Georgia’s Republicans are right.
I’m getting convinced that this generalization is mostly true: “What’s the difference between Democrats and Republicans? Democrats give a sh!t about people other than themselves.”
Chris
August 11th, 2010
7:55 pm
Hahaha Jerry sounds like someone’s getting nervous about November. Well I’d be nervous too if my party nominated a crooked politician for governor who left Congress a week before ethics charges. And what are you smoking? Georgia the reddest of the red states? How is a state that McCain won by only 5% one of the reddest states in the nation?
Puppets On Parade
August 11th, 2010
8:09 pm
Lets see here. One candidate is endorsed by a experienced centrist who balanced the national budget in the US House. The other is endorsed by an extremist party poison-drinker with no experience, and is a quitter besides. Whew! That one was a tough call!
Joachim
August 11th, 2010
8:27 pm
How can Karen concede the election when of the 5500 or so uncounted votes, 75% of the votes for her would have won her the majority.
CobbGOPer
August 11th, 2010
9:04 pm
Lifelong Republican. Will not vote for Deal under any circumstance. I’ll play golf on election day.
Rob B
August 11th, 2010
9:08 pm
“We thank her for putting the party first and saving us a lot of heartache”
Ah yes because what’s best for the party is far superior of a ideal than the state. Can we just vote on people and not political ideologies.
Tammy Lynn C.
August 11th, 2010
9:15 pm
Today was a very happy when Karen Handel stepped aside and allowed our party to have a wonderful nomination for governor, Nathan Deal. I think that he is the only one of the two that can beat Roy Barnes. Karen, you are very classy in what you did. Nathan, You will always have my vote!
Phyllis
August 11th, 2010
9:45 pm
PLEASE VOTE EVEN IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE PERSON THAT IS RUNNING, THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT RACE, DON’T LET US DOWN. Please reconsider going golfing instead of voting.
Red Ryder
August 11th, 2010
9:53 pm
JerryFrom GA I find you amusing pal. Barnes will eat Deal alive.
Anon
August 11th, 2010
9:53 pm
“What have the dem’s done for you except raise unemployment, raise taxes, raise debt, raise level of corruption and decrease the value of the dollar.”
I love how you mention these things as if they actually happened.
WtfinGA
August 11th, 2010
9:55 pm
That is soooo funny to me, I guess the Good Ole Boy network must have called Karen Handel and told her that women belong in the Kitchen and not in politics and back off Nathan Deal or else … So she backed down, I guess the Mama Grizzly is a just a whole lot of bark but no bite. haha
Anon
August 11th, 2010
9:59 pm
As an independent. I’ll never vote for a republican in Georgia again until they get rid of that ridiculous mandatory party loyalty oath GOP politicians are required to take. Political loyalty should be to their constituents first, state second, and party third. The thought of a politician being required to take a loyalty oath to the party is sickening.
Red Ryder
August 11th, 2010
10:00 pm
gigi Oh gigi you are such a clown. The Dems did all that? And the Repubs did what exactly under Bush??? Illegal wars;trampled the Constitution, allowed 9-11 to happen; could not capture Bin Laden; allowed Wall Street to put this country almost into bankruptcy; invaded Iraq(lied about WMD’s) etc etc etc. The Dems are trying to clean up the messes that Bush and the Repubs made for 8 years.
skponggol
August 11th, 2010
10:13 pm
While Karen Handel behaves graciously Nathan Deal is very childish and a sore loser. Deal threatens not to back Handel if he loses.
Now Nathan Deal can continue to threaten Georgians he’ll not support Georgia if he loses in the general election.
“Mommy, if I loses, I don’t want to play anymore !”
WtfinGA
August 11th, 2010
10:13 pm
Hey Anon, what have the Republicans done to America??? I think its because of the Republicans that we have spent a what over $1 Trillion in the past 8 years on the Iraq war and we have accomplished absolutely nothing, let’s see what else the Republicans have done they create propaganda and fear in Americans by putting out fabricated stories that are totally baseless. They made it seem that illegal immigration is our economies downfall but yet there are NO numbers that back that. Matter of fact if you look at the U.S. Border Patrol Numbers apprehensions have cratered within the last 5 – 10 years with the biggest decline in the last few years. So how is it out of control. They made big deal because of that KSU student about “undocumented aliens” being in our school system and out of 50,000 they only found 240 which includes US citizen that weren’t able to provide documentation of residency. Republicans said that Arizona is the kidnap capitol of the US, but yet again that is so false, they stated that Arizona’s violent crimes are out of control but yet statistics show that it has significantly declined over the past 5 years by over 30%. So where do all these Republican facts come from? The National Enquirer or Fox News???
If it was up to the Republicans millions wouldn’t have any unemployment benefits anymore, teachers would have lost their jobs and if it was up good ole Sonny, our kids would only go to school 4 days out of the week with Georgia being one of the worst school systems in the country! Way to go in combating our economy’s woes by simply making sure that our kids just want be smart enough to compete.
Also it was the Republicans that ran this country into the ground for the past 8 years before Obama but yet you want to blame the Democrats and Obama. The stimulus and tarp was already created in the Bush Administration. So in my opinion what have the Democrats done, well they have a way better vision for the average American not the wealthy, rich and well off that doesn’t know what it means to make ends meet and live check to check and that is what the difference is.
Oh on another note, to call yourself an American but yet wanting to change the US Constitution is about as Un-American as you can get, matter of fact in my eyes that is about the worst you can do. We are suppose the uphold the US constitution as this is what the foundation of this country is. So just because of that I can’t even think about a Republican
Sweeperman
August 11th, 2010
10:25 pm
Screw it! Good ole boys stay in power. We need change in leadership and I aint talking about Obama’s change. Think i’ll just sit the rest of the elections out. Nothins gonna change.
Akennas
August 11th, 2010
11:17 pm
Commenters like WtfinGA, Red Ryder, Allen, Chris and old man are prime exhibits of why I would never vote for Roy Barnes. If twisted leftists like them they say he is the one to vote for, RUN AWAY FROM HIM AS FAST AS YOU CAN!
I endured King Roy the first time around – why the heck would I vote for the pompous donkey eight years later?
Here’s a campaign line for the Deal campaign: “There is a reason you turned out King Roy eight years ago. What has changed?”
Ravishing Rick Rude
August 11th, 2010
11:26 pm
Goes to show that in GA politics it pays to be a crook more than it pays to be friendly to gays.
WtfinGA
August 12th, 2010
12:56 am
Hey Akennas – I am pretty sure you are one of those so called God fearing, righteous Christians that preaches what you don’t practice. Republicans have shown their true colors as undercover racists, yes I said racists. For any American to simply to go against anything President Obama does, no matter if it is good for the American people or not just because he wants it. Is not an American to me. Majority of Republicans just have a problem that Pres. Obama is a black man that was voted as the 1st black president and that’s it. You guys were about to put a straight Ditz in the White House (Sarah Palin) that has the IQ of a rock but yet that was okay for the cause. We had to endure Bush for 2 terms after he stole the elections with the help of his family but I don’t think anybody went to the extreme like the Republicans did by deceiving, lying, making false statements and continue to do so!
Roy Barnes is no better than Deal but if you have to pick the lesser of 2 evils I pick a democrat over a republican any day. Republicans want to do away with the 14th amendment of the US Constitution. The US Constitution is NOT to be touched period this is the foundation of our country. But of course you are fine with it to fuel your cause. Hey Karen Handel called Deal a crook but now she is going to endorse him? Sounds like some major dookie crap going on within the GOP. I am pretty sure Republicans would love to bring slavery back, I guess that’s the next thing they may propose with the illegal aliens, yes let’s get free labor or execute them but yet you call yourself god fearing Chrisitans. I guess everything is fair game as long as it doesn’t happen to you!