Democrat Jason Carter cast an early ballot for himself at a south DeKalb mall while Gov. Nathan Deal stumped for votes in rural south Georgia.
“It is an important moment for me, without a doubt,” the grandson of the former president told our AJC colleague Jeremy Redmon after voting. “There is a sense of it coming down to reality. And I have this sense of calm about it but I’m also excited.”
At the same time, the governor embarked on a grueling stretch that brought him to Sylvester, Tifton, Moultrie and Valdosta before lunchtime. At each stop, he mocked his opponent's vow to cut waste in Georgia's budget to boost education funding.
"A billion dollars of waste is not there. And if it was, why didn't he offer amendments to the state budget?" he said in Tifton. Outside a tractor dealer in Moultrie, he earned laughs from the crowd of about 75 people when he described Carter's "Washington math."
"If you want Washington math, vote for Carter. If you don't want Washington math, vote for me," he said. "We don't need Washington math in Georgia."
Carter, a two-term state senator, took his own shot at the incumbent Republican before walking into the polling station.
“There are a lot of Republicans in the state Senate that are really glad it is a secret ballot,” Carter said. "Because a lot of them are my good buddies and they have been threatened and cajoled by the governor.”
Republican state Sen. Charlie Bethel of Dalton said that's wishful thinking.
"I understand that statewide campaigns can be fatiguing," said Bethel. "Still, I am confident Jason is smarter than that even when tired. I am not sure who that is intended to fool."
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