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DEL.ICIO.USPerdue coasts to win in governor’s race
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For much of 2006, the political stars were aligned for Gov. Sonny Perdue: After years of spending cuts, the state had $580 million surplus, which provided money for tax breaks and $1 billion for Georgia’s schools.
And unlike in 2002, when he shocked Gov. Roy Barnes, Perdue led this race from the start. He was buoyed by a mountain of campaign cash, a relatively strong economy and an easy-going, every-man image. In the end, it was too much for Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor to overcome.
Perdue easily defeated Taylor in the governor’s race Tuesday night, capturing nearly 60 percent of the vote. He became the first Republican governor in the state’s history to be re-elected — and the victory was the most lopsided in a gubernatorial election since 1986, when Democratic Gov. Joe Frank Harris trounced Republican Guy Davis Jr. by a 2-to-1 ratio.
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At 10:45 p.m., less than four hours after the polls closed, Perdue addressed cheering supporters and looked toward his second term.
“We aren’t doing things for the election, we are doing things for the next generation,” Perdue said.
Taylor, meanwhile, conceded defeat in a race he was never really in.
“Tonight, the people of Georgia have spoken, and I accept their judgment,” said Taylor, a longtime former state senator and two-term lieutenant governor.
He plans to retire from politics and return to his hometown of Albany, he said.
Even though Democratic incumbents in statewide races were able to hang onto their seats Tuesday, Perdue defeated Taylor by sizable margins — in some cases 5- to-1 — in some suburban counties, such as Gwinnett, Hall and Fayette.
The gap was so huge that Taylor had no chance of making up the difference in Democratic counties, such as DeKalb and Clayton, when votes from those areas began rolling in.
“I want to make it crystal clear — tonight was a devastating night,” said Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta).
Taylor couldn’t overcome a bitter Democratic primary against Secretary of State Cathy Cox. He spent millions to defeat Cox, and in the process, lost many of her supporters, who were angered by Taylor’s attacks.
With limited finances — and coming off a tough primary — Taylor’s campaign never had a chance to tell voters what he would do better than Perdue, said Keith Mason, a former chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Zell Miller and one-time aide to former President Bill Clinton.
Instead, Taylor spent much of the past month running TV ads accusing Perdue of using his office to make money.
While that debate will continue into next year — Democrats have filed numerous ethics complaints that have yet to be considered — Taylor ran few ads telling voters what he would do if elected.
“I don’t think the Taylor campaign ever had the advantage of getting the message out to the public because they were so beaten up from the primary and didn’t have the resources,” Mason said.
Democratic Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, who was re-elected Tuesday, said Taylor was in a tough position.
“He was running against a very popular incumbent governor,” Thurmond said. “He had a very difficult challenge. Gov. Perdue ran a very tough race, a very effective race. Consequently, the power of the incumbency held tonight.”
As a result, Taylor had difficulty connecting with Democratic voters, such as Peter DeMartin, who cast his ballot at a polling place in Decatur.
DeMartin typically votes for Democratic candidates, he said. This time, though, he decided to vote for Perdue.
The governor, said DeMartin, managed the gas crisis well and “didn’t go into panic mode” as prices soared after Hurricane Katrina.
Although he thought the Democrats’ chances of victory were “slim,” Gladston Parker, who lives in Flowery Branch, voted for Taylor.
“One thing I like about him: he’s got a strong backbone. If it’s right, he will stand strong,” said Parker.
Some voters weren’t enthusiastic about either candidate.
Frances Dunlap, a clinical psychologist has worked as a volunteer for Moveon.org, a liberal advocacy group.
But at a downtown Decatur precinct, she cast her ballot for Libertarian candidate Garrett Michael Hayes. “I was disgusted by both of them,” she said, referring to Perdue and Taylor. “They both seemed slimy. It’s the first time I’ve ever voted Libertarian.”
During his campaign, Perdue vowed to finish his “Sonny do” list of requests sent in by voters, and he beat back Taylor’s charges that he used his office to get rich.
The governor was helped along by a strong fund-raising effort, and Perdue and the state Republican Party brought in about $27 million for the governor to spend in his race against Taylor.
At the same time, Georgia’s trend toward becoming a solidly Republican state gave Perdue a huge advantage heading into Tuesday.
“All of that stuff allowed him to run for re-election with the right ingredients for success,” said Eric Tannenblatt, who served as Perdue’s chief of staff during his first year in office.
While most of the TV advertising aired by Perdue and the GOP was positive, the governor spent much of the last month on the defensive because of a series of land deals and a tax break that presented an inviting target for Taylor.
Taylor argued that Perdue has made himself rich since becoming governor. Since taking office, Perdue’s net worth has increased from $4.4 million to an estimated $8 million. The governor, who ran for office in 2002 preaching ethics and transparency, used money from the sale of inherited property in his native Houston County to buy $2 million worth of land near Disney World from Newnan developer Stanley Thomas in 2004.
AJC staff writers D.L. Bennett, Jeremy Redmon and Ernie Suggs contributed to this report.
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