Candidates make morning rounds

Metro Atlanta

Candidates make appearances the day after July 20 elections

Former Secretary of State Karen Handel speaks with WSBTV anchor Fred Blankenship on Wednesday morning. Handel led the Republican primary for governor on Tuesday with 33 percent of the vote.

Former Congressman Nathan Deal finished second in the GOP primary and will face Karen Handel in a runoff August 10. Deal won 23 percent in the GOP governor's race. Deal meets WSB-TV anchors Carol Sbarge and Fred Blankenship early Wednesday, July 21.

Former Gov. Roy Barnes handily won the Democratic nomination for his old job. He speaks with WSB TV anchors Fred Blankenship and Carol Sbarge Wednesday, July 21. Almost eight years after being ousted by Sonny Perdue and becoming the first Democrat to lose a governor's race to a Republican in modern Georgia history, Barnes overwhelmed a field of six other Democrats Tuesday.

Barnes, who handily won the Democratic nomination for his old job, jokes with WSB-TV anchors Fred Blankenship and Carol Sbarge Wednesday.

Handel said her campaign will focus on improvements to education, including allowing local school systems the flexibility to use sales tax revenues for classroom instruction.

Deal said that if elected governor, he would push for smaller government to meet budgeting challenges.

Deal said he'll draw on his experiences in Congress and the state Senate to tackle the problems Georgia is facing. And he said he's well-versed in the views of women voters, having been married 44 years and having had his mother live with him until she was 100.

Karen Handel's campaign received a boost shortly before the July 21 primary by an endorsement by Sarah Palin.

Nathan Deal was endorsed by Newt Gingrich. Deal also touted his Georgia Right to Life endorsement and predicted he'll have the backing of former Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and former state Sen. Eric Johnson, his unsuccessful primary opponents.

Karen Handel leads the pack in the race for the Republican nomination for governor and Nathan Deal finished second.

Barnes told the television audience he was very humbled and overwhelmed to have won the crowded Democratic primary without a runoff.

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Former Secretary of State Karen Handel speaks with WSBTV anchor Fred Blankenship on Wednesday morning. Handel led the Republican primary for governor on Tuesday with 33 percent of the vote.

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