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DEL.ICIO.USRunoffs likely in secretary of state contests
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Voters are likely to go to the polls again on Aug. 8 to pick a Democratic and Republican candidates for secretary of state.
Results showed that no candidate won more than 50 percent in either party’s primary Tuesday. A candidate must win with more than 50 percent to avoid a runoff.
As of 11:25 p.m., with 82 percent of precincts reporting, Karen Handle led the pack in the Republican primary with 42.5 percent of the vote. Handle is chairwoman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. She led Sen. Bill Stephens (R-Canton). He had 33.2 percent.
In the Democratic primary, Rep. Gail Buckner (D-Jonesboro) had 24.8 percent of the vote. In second place was Darryl Hicks, former executive for the parent company of Atlanta Gas Light. Hicks had 21.7 percent.
The Democratic primary was a relatively sedate affair with six candidates in the running. The Democratic candidates — several of them political neophytes — mostly struggled to distinguish themselves from the pack.
It was the GOP primary that commanded attention, with Stephens and Handel waging a bitter campaign, loaded with accusations of flip-flops, lies, distortions and dirty tricks.
Both Handel and Stephens raised large amounts of money, and have plenty remaining to continue waging a campaign. Stephens has emphasized his work in the state senate, where he helped build a majority for the GOP in recent years as one of the chamber’s top leaders. He also counted former Gov. Zell Miller, for whom Stephens had worked, as his supporter.
“Tomorrow we start over and there’s a brand new election in three weeks,” Stephens said late Tuesday. “Everybody starts from zero. We’re in the fourth inning of a nine inning game and I know how to close a game.”
Handel cited a combination of her political experience, business experience — she’s former head of North Fulton’s chamber of commerce — and work for both Gov. Sonny Perdue and former Vice President Dan Quayle and his wife Marilyn Quayle as qualifications for the job.
“We figured all along it would be a runoff,” Handel said Tuesday night. “What I’m real proud of is we’re coming in the strongest position.”
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