Even as he faced two GOP rivals, Gov. Nathan Deal hardly elaborated on his second term agenda. At his election party on Tuesday, the incumbent Republican said he would soon sharpen his tone on education and the economy in the runup to November.
The governor said he was buoyed by early returns showing him with a commanding lead over Superintendent John Barge and former Dalton Mayor David Pennington. The winner faces Democrat Jason Carter, who has accused the governor of a lack of vision.
"We're going to be elaborating on the details of our plan," said Deal. "I think K-12 education has to be a primary focus. We have a lot of great teachers in our state and we need to make sure they are supported so they have the positive results we all want."
The governor has made few promises about what he would do in a second term, instead preferring a stay the course message. The only specific plan he has outlined is a vow to rework the decades-old school funding formula, which he mentioned again on Tuesday.
The general election campaign is expected to be a particularly brutal one. Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, has pitched himself as a moderate Democrat and has a well-financed operation behind him. Deal said he expects a tide of outside money to prop up both sides of the race, much like the Senate contest.
Said Deal:
"We can gauge a little bit about what the campaign from this point forward might be by looking at what is happening in the U.S. Senate race. We know there's a lot of outside money coming in, really from both sides. And those outside messages are sometimes not exactly what the candidates themselves intend to say personally. It takes on a national significance after the primary."
He also struck a wistful note.
"This is my last race," he said. "And when you know it's your last race, you put everything into it."
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