State Rep. Lee Anderson of Grovetown has declared victory in the 12th Congressional District Republican runoff, but Augusta businessman Rick W. Allen was not ready to concede Wednesday, hoping a few remaining ballots and a recount could overcome his narrow deficit.
The winner will face U.S. Rep. John Barrow, an Augusta Democrat, in a nationally watched race that will be Georgia's most competitive congressional contest this fall.
Anderson led by 154 votes Wednesday in uncertified results. There are 139 uncounted overseas military ballots and an undetermined number of provisional ballots, according to Jared Thomas, spokesman for the secretary of state's office. Voters have until Friday to confirm their eligibility at the local board of elections, after which the counties can tabulate the provisional ballots and the state can certify the results.
If the margin remains this close, the Allen campaign plans to ask for a recount.
It would be the second recount in three weeks in the 12th District, which spans from Augusta to rural Coffee County in South Georgia. After a four-way July 31 primary, third-place Augusta attorney Wright McLeod asked for a recount, but it changed only a handful of votes.
In a recount, each county retabulates its electronic votes the same way it counts on Election Night.
"Tonight we won a battle," Anderson told supporters Tuesday night, claiming victory. "Tonight we start our effort to win the war and send Barrow and [President Barack] Obama back home."
McLeod and Dublin attorney Maria Sheffield, the other primary contestant, both endorsed Anderson after losing. They also called for Allen to step aside so the party could "unite" against Barrow.
Allen campaign manager Scott Paradise said the count was too close for that, just yet.
"We're considering all options, but we're going to let the process work itself out," Paradise said.
Allen won populous Columbia and Richmond counties — including a 2-to-1 margin in Richmond, which includes his Augusta home. But Anderson, who has spent decades in politics and has sold farming equipment throughout the district, was strong in the rural counties.
If Anderson's lead holds, it would mean Gov. Nathan Deal batted two-for-two in Republican runoffs Tuesday night. He gave last-minute endorsements to Anderson and state Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville, who won the runoff in the new 9th Congressional District.
In the aftermath Wednesday, Republicans were seeking to close ranks after a bitter contest between Collins and Martha Zoller, a former radio talk show host.
In several testy debates, the two attacked each other over abortion, taxes and civil unions for gay couples. But after it became clear Tuesday evening that Collins had won, the two started showing signs that they would unite. Zoller said she planned to meet Collins in the coming days and support him in the Nov. 6 general election against Jody Cooley, a Democrat. Collins called Zoller a "fine opponent" and said she was "gracious as always" when she called him to concede the race.
In an interview Wednesday, Collins predicted Republicans would have no problem uniting against Cooley. The North Georgia district includes counties that traditionally vote Republican, making Collins the heavy favorite to win.
While Collins and Zoller staked out many of the same positions on policy issues, there will be a sharper contrast between Collins and Cooley.
Collins, for example, supports repealing the federal health care overhaul and opposes the new Obama administration policy that offers a two-year reprieve from deportation to certain illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as young children, are enrolled in school or have graduated and have not committed serious crimes.
Cooley, an attorney from Gainesville, said the health care legislation should be improved, not scrapped. And he supports the White House's new immigration policy.
"It's a tough race," Cooley said. "It's a strong Republican headwind, but you know what, that is part of the reason I ran. I feel like if we never challenge policy positions that we feel are not good for the country, then those policy positions will never change."
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