Handel puts twists into 2010 election

Secretary of State Karen Handel has been making phone calls to Republican activists around the state, assuring them that she is, indeed, running for governor.

A public announcement will come shortly, but the tea leaves have been there for the reading —- and include the fact that Sonny Perdue was at Handel’s side in Miami at the November meeting of the Republican Governors Association.

Handel has already sketched out a staff.

The campaign is to be headed by Marty Ryall, who ran the unsuccessful re-election bid of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.). The well-respected Whit Ayres will be in charge of polling. TV ad specialist Fred Davis of California, who was behind last summer’s Barack Obama-as-celebrity ad, will handle Handel’s video.

The talented yet expensive team presumes Handel’s ability to raise a great deal of money. The first-term secretary of state has yet to collect a dime for the 2010 contest —- while her two GOP rivals, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, already have raised more than $1 million each.

Handel’s entry into the race has two implications that could very well be connected.

First, all three suburban candidates must presume that an 18-month slog will result in a runoff between two of them. The prospect will thrill Democrats.

A Handel campaign for governor also guarantees that, in Georgia, the GOP debate over gender and politics won’t end with Sarah Palin.

Breaking through has always been tough for female politicians in Georgia, regardless of party.

With few exceptions, the General Assembly that convenes today in Atlanta remains the most exclusive and powerful men’s club in the state.

Republican women readily acknowledge that the glass ceiling is thicker on their side. Possibly because Democratic women skew slightly younger; perhaps because many Christian conservatives with influence in the GOP discourage the idea of female leadership.

Millie Rogers, president of the Georgia Federation of Republican Women, thinks money is another reason. Republicans have no Win List, a group that provides seed cash to Democratic female candidates in Georgia.

“Without money, you don’t have a seat at the table,” Rogers said. Her group is exploring the idea of starting such a fund.

Rogers hasn’t taken a side in the Republican race for governor. She said Handel will be entering the contest at a time GOP women are feeling particularly “resentful.”

Part of the resentment stems from the treatment Palin received during the 2008 presidential campaign, and what many Republican women see as the media’s failure to recognize the unorthodox career paths that they’re often forced to take.

A Georgia-specific incident last month also has GOP women steamed.

During the celebration after Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) won his runoff election, trouncing Democrat Jim Martin, state GOP Chairman Sue Everhart —- the party’s first female leader —- was barred from the stage where congratulations were being handed out. Everhart had written the check for the stage.

The Chambliss campaign said the slight was unintentional and apologized profusely. Many Republican women saw the gaffe as only another example of their envelope-stuffing status.

Bettye Chambers, a long-time Gwinnett activist, wrote a blistering e-mail that traveled up and down the ranks of GOP volunteers, which trend heavily female, denouncing what she called the “blight” on Chambliss’ victory.

“We are past the era of just sitting silently and not taking a stand,” she said afterward.

It would be poor strategy on Handel’s part to peddle herself as the GOP’s female candidate. Both Cagle and Oxendine have solid records of attracting the support of women voters.

A natural constituency can provide an invaluable edge in a three-way race. If nothing else, Handel’s candidacy could give Republican women that seat at the table they’ve wanted —- the one that’s often mistaken for a pedestal.

jgalloway@ajc.com