Careers will end, careers will be made on primary day

By Aaron Gould Sheinin

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia's political landscape will make a first step toward massive changes Tuesday when many veteran state political leaders find their careers derailed in the aftermath of primary election results.

When polls close Tuesday evening at 7, no more than four of 14 candidates for governor will still have an immediate political future, and that assumes a runoff is necessary in both the Democratic and Republican campaigns. The would-be governors, seven Democrats and seven Republicans, have more than 150 years of combined state and federal government experience.

Their resumes include secretary of state, state legislator, governor, congressman, insurance commissioner and attorney general.

And that's just in the race for governor. There are experienced state lawmakers putting their careers on the line Tuesday in races for Congress, insurance commissioner, secretary of state, attorney general, labor commissioner and the Public Service Commission.

For many, Tuesday will mark an ending or, at least, a major roadblock to another act in politics.

"It would be very difficult, if you lose and drop out of politics and eight years from now decide you want to get back into it," said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political scientist and an expert in state politics and elections. "Someone who doesn't make the cut this time probably needs to look back to the Legislature."

In other words, it's difficult to fail upward.

And the candidates for governor were doing their best Monday to make final pleas to voters in an effort to stay -- politically -- alive, for at least three more weeks until the Aug. 10 runoff.

On the Republican side, former Secretary of State Karen Handel, former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal and former state Sen. Eric Johnson took to the air for an Election Eve rite of passage -- the statewide fly-around. Former Gov. Roy Barnes, too, was boarding a plane to sweep the state in his bid to reclaim the Democratic nomination.

Others were keeping their feet on the ground but pounding the pavement just the same. Republican John Oxendine, the state insurance commissioner, greeted voters in Macon and Atlanta, and Democrat DuBose Porter, the House minority leader, set up shop at the Varsity.

“I can feel momentum building in our campaign as more and more voters sort through all the silliness and clutter to find the proven conservative in this race,” Johnson said before his fly-around. “We have always said that we are going to peak on Election Day, and that is exactly what we are doing.”

In Macon on Monday afternoon, Deal continued to pitch his plan to create jobs.

"I recognize we need jobs in Georgia, but I'm not just going to go around saying that," he said. "I believe that everybody -- moderate, conservative, liberal -- knows that we need to grow jobs or we're not going to have a very bright future in Georgia."

At DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, Barnes said his experience is key.

"At this particular time, we need someone who does not need on-the-job-training," he said.

Barnes, who served a term as governor from 1999 to 2003, is a good reminder of second acts in politics. If he wins the nomination Tuesday and reclaims his former job in November, it will be his third or fourth act, in fact.

Elected to the state Senate in 1975, he lost a bid for governor in 1990 and came back to win a state House seat in 1992. He won his second bid for governor in 1998 and lost re-election in 2002.

The lesson there for those who lose Tuesday: Maybe there are second, or third, or fourth chances.