Palin backs Handel as Deal crosses the state for final push

By Aaron Gould Sheinin and Steve Visser

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Just hours before the polls open for the GOP runoff for governor, Sarah Palin and Karen Handel rallied the faithful in Buckhead while Nathan Deal crisscrossed the state in search of last-minute support.

Handel and Deal will finally get closure Tuesday when polls close at 7 p.m., but both candidates made it clear Monday that they will work for every last vote before then.

At the InterContinental Hotel in Buckhead, Palin, the 2008 GOP nominee for vice president, lauded Handel and defended herself from critics questioning why she got involved in the race.

The why, Palin said, is because "it's epic. It's historic. The eyes of the nation are on you, Georgia, to see if you get rid of that good old boy network. People are watching what's going on in Georgia."

On Monday, Deal's eyes were on Middle and South Georgia, and he touted the fact that he was there, not at "a four-star hotel in Buckhead."

Deal hoped his seven-stop tour aboard his campaign chairman's single-prop Pilatus PC12 would generate enough free media in places like Columbus, Albany, Macon and Savannah to boost turnout.

The area was strong for GOP candidates John Oxendine and Eric Johnson in the July 20 primary, and a recent poll shows their supporters trending toward Deal, a former congressman from Gainesville who represented much of North Georgia.

On Monday, about 2,000 people crowded an InterContinental Hotel ballroom to hear Palin. A day earlier, in Gainesville, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a 2008 GOP presidential candidate, held a similar rally for Deal before about 800 supporters.

Palin, while never mentioning Deal or Huckabee by name, said she heard the criticisms of her decision to endorse Handel.

"I know there are some isolationist politicos around here who have questioned my endorsement of Karen," Palin said. "I don't know if they've questioned endorsements by outsiders of the other guy. I haven't read a whole lot about that."

She said she chose to endorse Handel because "I know Karen Handel is a self-made strong woman who pulled herself up by her bootstraps. She left a tough home situation and got a good education. She didn't blame her circumstances. She worked hard to get where she is today."

Palin said she and Handel, a former secretary of state, have much in common. Both were considered underdogs who have been criticized by the political establishment.

"More power to her," Palin said. "She's been underestimated her entire life. She's been able to thwart what the experts have said about some circumstances and situations."

Meanwhile, Deal's stops around Georgia helped show he is counting on his strong support from the Republican leadership to defeat Handel, a north Fulton Republican. She is focusing on metro Atlanta, which has about half the Republican votes.

State Republican legislators and U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta, met Deal at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, and U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, whose 3rd Congressional District runs from Columbus suburbs to Atlanta suburbs, met him in Columbus. Georgia House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, R-Milton, was on the campaign plane.

"I don't think Sarah Palin would know Karen Handel if she got into a cab with her," said Westmoreland, who contended Handel didn't represent Georgia's social conservative values.

Back in Atlanta, Handel said she was thrilled to have Palin here the day before the election.

"This has been a tough race, and it's going to get tougher," Handel said. "That's why I'm so proud to have this great lady with us today. Governor Palin, you've been an inspiration for me. And this room says what an inspiration you've been for them as well. Governor Palin was underestimated, too. She took on the powerful career politicians, too."

Joan Towles, 47, of Alpharetta was in the crowd, clutching a copy of Palin's book, "Going Rogue," and admitted she was drawn more by Palin.

"I know more about Sarah Palin than I do Karen Handel," Towles said. "I believe in Sarah Palin's message."

Knowing Palin endorsed Handel means a lot to her, however.

"Karen is very solid," Towles said. "I can tell by the way she carries herself. She's a graduate of the school of hard knocks. Karen Handel having Sarah Palin's endorsement doesn't hurt her at all. It elevates her to a national level."

But Palin's endorsement didn't sway Jones, who said she supported Handel in races for the Fulton County Commission and secretary of state. Jones said Deal would make a far better governor, because of his experience in local and national politics and business.

"He's been on both sides of a paycheck," Jones said. "It matters who is governor, and it matters what your qualifications are."

Deal said Handel has put forth only attacks rather than any proposals on how she would govern. The state, he said, has tough times ahead economically and politically.

He said if elected, he will cut the corporate tax rate for all companies and exempt startup companies from corporate taxation until they are established.

In terms of the water dispute with Florida and Alabama, which threatens growth in metro Atlanta, he said that the state has to do more with conservation and water treatment to put it in a better bargaining position.

But it was clear he was outside metro Atlanta when he assured the small packs of supporters he would remember rural Georgia.

"I'm a farm boy at heart," he said. "I know how important agriculture is to our state. It is still the No. 1 economic driver."