Deal has Handel's support if he wins; she doesn't have his if she prevails

By James Salzer

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After former congressman Nathan Deal and one-time Secretary of State Karen Handel hammered each other for three weeks leading up to Tuesday's Republican gubernatorial runoff, their final debate Sunday was fairly tame stuff.

Deal and Handel talked about saving the financially challenged HOPE scholarship, making sure the state has enough water, immigration reform and whether the tolls should come off GA 400.

The animosity of the past few weeks came out in spots, particularly when each candidate was asked if he or she would  support the Republican nominee against Democrat Roy Barnes in the fall.

Handel, who has called Deal a "corrupt relic of Washington," said she'd support Deal if he won the runoff.

Deal, who has said Handel's campaign lacks substance, wouldn't commit to backing her if she won.

"It's going to take some time for us to heal the wounds that have been inflicted here," Deal said.

The 30-minute debate, sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, was aired live and statewide on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

A new poll released Sunday, done for the Georgia Newspaper Partnership, showed Handel leading Deal 47 percent to 42 percent with 11 percent undecided heading into Tuesday's vote.

The race for the Republican nomination has been a hard-hitting campaign that has received national attention through high-profile endorsements from GOP stalwarts such as former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who is backing Handel, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who endorsed Deal.

Huckabee rallied voters for Deal on Sunday in Gainesville; Palin visits Atlanta on Handel's behalf on Monday.

Barnes, Georgia's former governor, won the Democratic nomination without a runoff and faces the winner of Tuesday's vote.

With the runoff race close, neither candidate broke new ground on Sunday or offered much in the way of specifics. Both said they would aggressively negotiate with Florida and Alabama officials over their long-running water dispute with Georgia.

Both pledged support for the HOPE scholarship program. But neither offered much in the way of specifics for how to deal with HOPE now that it is dipping into reserves to pay for those scholarships.

Both promised to get tough on illegal immigrants and to support a law similar to the one Arizona passed but the federal government is now fighting.

Deal repeated his backing for removing  tolls from GA 400. Handel said the tolls should come off if the money isn't used on improvements to the GA 400 corridor.

"I would also submit as someone who travels GA 400 every single day that if you look at the models out there, removing the tolls would increase congestion by 18 percent," Handel said.

While Sunday's debate had limited tension, Handel used her chance to question Deal over ethics. Specifically, she asked why he doesn't support laws that prevent lawmakers from doing business with the government.

Deal and his business partner Ken Cronan operate a salvage yard in Gainesville that for nearly two decades has enjoyed a no-bid agreement with the state to provide space for inspections of rebuilt vehicles. In August 2009, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Deal intervened with Graham and other state leaders to stop Graham from changing the program that earned Deal and Cronan's company nearly $300,000 per year.

Deal said Georgians want transparency in lawmakers reporting their business interests, not a ban on doing business with the state.

To which Handel responded, "It is appropriate and fair that those who are doing the business of the people are not benefiting from the business of the people."

QUOTE BOX:

Handel on whether she'd support Deal if he wins the runoff:

"Absolutely. What I am going to do is do what is absolutely best for the state and what's best for our party, and having a Republican and not letting Roy Barnes get his hands back on the state is what is going to be in the best interest of Georgia."

Deal on whether he'd support Handel if she wins the runoff:

"I don't think I have run a campaign in which I have been divisive. I don't think I have been the one who has caused his party to have the divisions. I don't think I am the candidate who has attacked our fellow candidates in this primary election process. It is going to take some time for us to heal the wounds that have been inflicted here."

Handel on saving the HOPE scholarship:

"My opponent made quite a subject out of the fact that I don't have a college degree. It is precisely because I don't have that college degree that I am going to be the strongest champion of HOPE that we've had in a long, long time because I know how important the program is."

Deal on removing the tolls from GA 400:

"These good people who have paid this toll for all these years should not be asked to continue to pay it. We need to show good faith to the people who have trusted us."