Gubernatorial candidates make morning TV rounds

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By Nancy Badertscher and Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The top three contenders for governor were back before the cameras early Wednesday, promising change and some spirited campaigning as they head into the November election.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Karen Handel is interviewed by WSB's anchor Fred Blankenship on Wednesday morning.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Nathan Deal shakes hands with WSB's Carol Sbarge before an interview Wednesday morning.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Roy Barnes laughs while on the set at WSB with Fred Blankenship and Carol Sbarge.

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Runoff-bound Republicans Karen Handel and Nathan Deal both made clear they’ll be battling it out for the title of most conservative candidate in the race.

Handel, the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s Republican primary, dismissed Deal’s characterization of her as a liberal.

“I’m not going to be lectured by Nathan Deal,” said Handel, the first of the three to appear live on WSB-TV’s early morning news, with little to no sleep.

Deal, she pointed out, is a former Democrat.

For his part, Deal touted his Georgia Right to Life endorsement and predicted he’ll have the backing of former Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and former state Sen. Eric Johnson, his unsuccessful primary opponents.

Both Deal and Handel said they’d welcome public appearances by two big names that stood with their campaigns, but not certain that would happen.

Deal was backed by former U.S. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, while Handel was endorsed in the primary by former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Former Gov. Roy Barnes told the television audience he was “very humbled and overwhelmed” to have won the crowded Democratic primary without a runoff.

He said the Democratic candidates “didn’t call each other names” and called it a “childish” strategy to try to link candidates for governor to national politicians who are not on the ballot.

Barnes issued a challenge to Georgia voters come November and the general election:

“If you want change, if you want to make sure that we put education number one, if you want to build infrastructure, to attract business, if you want to stop the rest of the nation laughing at us because we pass bills like microchips in the head and being able to eat your own roadkill, now is the time to step up to the plate and change what’s been going on at the Gold Dome.”

Handel said her campaign will focus on improvements to education, including allowing local school systems the flexibility to use sales tax revenues for classroom instruction.

“We need to have a more technology-oriented education system,” Handel said. “Make sure that we do embrace technology in a much bigger way than we ever have before; that’s our pathway to increase and enhance educational opportunities for young people.”

In a shot at Barnes, she said, “Now is not the time to be going back.”

Barnes said he’s committed to change and to tackling issues from predatory lending and home foreclosures to public education.

Deal said he’ll draw on his experiences in Congress and the state Senate to tackle the problems Georgia is facing. And he said he’s well-versed in the views of women voters, having been married 44 years and having had his mother live with him until she was 100

On the immigration issue, Handel said that “we have to make sure that from the state level, that we are partnering in a robust way with our local law enforcement. It makes no sense to continue to pass legislation in Atlanta if our local law enforcement are left without the tools and resources to actually do the job.”

Barnes, addressing the immigration issue, said, “It’s a shame that the federal government cannot keep our borders secure.”

“This is a national problem that has to have some national solutions,” he said. “At the same time, I don’t have problems with state officers arresting folks for violation of a federal crime, because we do it all the time. We don’t turn a bank robber loose or a forger or a mail fraud defendant, just because they happen to be charged with a crime that’s in the federal system.”

Deal said that if elected governor, he would push for smaller government to meet budgeting challenges.

“Republicans have always said we believe in smaller government, we believe in lower spending,” Deal said. “This is the time where you have to make sure that that is implemented, because that’s the only way you get through the tough times.”