Doug Collins and Martha Zoller racked up endorsements from major Republican figures before they wound up in a runoff for Georgia's new 9th Congressional District this week.
A former radio talk show host, Zoller has the support of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Collins, a state legislator and Air Force Reserve chaplain, has the backing of former U.S. Sen. and former Gov. Zell Miller and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston.
But when it became clear Tuesday they were headed to an Aug. 21 runoff, Collins and Zoller were scrambling for the endorsement of someone far less well-known: Roger Fitzpatrick.
The former elementary school principal placed third in Tuesday's race, getting 17 percent of the vote and forcing Collins and Zoller into the runoff.
Collins called Fitzpatrick on Tuesday evening for his support. Zoller asked for his backing in a meeting Wednesday morning. Fitzpatrick picked up nearly 19,000 votes in the primary. Fitzpatrick handily won White County, where he resides. Both Collins and Zoller live in Gainesville. Fitzpatrick's supporters from outside Hall County could give them the extra turnout they need on Aug. 21.
But in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, Fitzpatrick said he did not plan to endorse anyone in the race and that voters should make their choice based on how the candidates adhere to the intent of the Constitution. "I will not change my mind," he said about making an endorsement.
However, in an earlier interview Wednesday, Fitzpatrick speculated that Zoller would have won most of his votes Tuesday had he not been in the race — something that Zoller also said Wednesday.
"I am going to be aggressively pursuing not only my voters to get them back out to the polls but [Fitzpatrick's] voters to get them back out to the polls," she said. "It is a real turnout game."
Whoever wins the GOP runoff will be the heavy favorite to win the Nov. 6 election since the 9th District is largely Republican. Jody Cooley, an attorney from Gainesville, also will be on the ballot as a Democrat.
The 12th Congressional District Republican primary also is going to a runoff, but a recount could be on the way to see who joins state Rep. Lee Anderson of Grovetown as a runoff partner. The winner of the Aug. 21 runoff faces Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow in what will be the state's most competitive congressional race this fall.
Anderson took about 34 percent of Tuesday's vote in a four-candidate race, while the second-place contest between construction company CEO Rick Allen and attorney Wright McLeod, both of Augusta, was tight. Allen led by about 600 votes in uncertified results as of Wednesday afternoon, within the 1 percent margin in which McLeod could ask for a recount.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Brian Kemp said the primary vote is expected to be certified Thursday or Friday, and a candidate would have two days after that to request a recount.
As for the newly drawn 9th District, it covers 17 counties and parts of three others in northeast Georgia. Gov. Nathan Deal represented much of the area when he served in Congress and has Collins serving as one of his floor leaders in the Legislature, but he has not endorsed anyone in the race.
"Last night's vote shows the 9th District is as independent-minded as it has ever been," Deal said through a spokesman Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Collins and Zoller were transitioning from a months-long marathon-style race to a three-week sprint to the runoff.
Collins, 45, said he spent more than three hours on the phone Wednesday morning, lining up support and collecting campaign donations for the runoff.
"I have a [phone] charger close by me, and if I need to, I will go buy an extra battery," he said.
Zoller, 52, said she and her husband briefed each other on what happened Tuesday evening before she started returning congratulatory emails and phone calls and asking voters at a local Starbucks for their support. She said she would be making more phone calls and working on strategy later in the day.
"No one is going to outwork me," she said.
Zoller described herself as someone in the "outsider mold," but Collins dismissed that idea and referred to how some of her big-name supporters don't live in the 9th District.
"Martha likes to say this is a race by the insider and outsider," he said. "I think she has got it dead on. She is the insider and I am the boy from North Georgia just trying to run the race to get to Washington with the help of folks from North Georgia."
Carl Cavalli, a political science professor at North Georgia College & State University, said both candidates bring different strengths. Zoller has strong name recognition from her time on the radio, he said, while Collins has an established campaign organization.
Staff writer Daniel Malloy contributed to this article.
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