Q: How do the voting percentages for the Senate race between David Perdue and Michelle Nunn compare to the race between Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin six years ago? What were the expenditures for both sides in both elections?
—Jim Connah, Sandy Springs
A: Perdue received 1.358 million votes to Nunn's 1.160 million of the 2.567 million votes in the Nov. 4 election for U.S. Senate counted through Tuesday. Perdue won the election with 52.9 percentage of the votes.
In 2008, Chambliss received 1.867 million votes to Martin’s 1.757 million (3.752 million total votes) in the general election, with neither candidate earning 50 percent of the vote, forcing a runoff. In the runoff, Chambliss received 1.228 million votes to Martin’s 909,923, or 57.4 percent of the total 2.137 million votes cast.
Chambliss raised $18.34 million and spent $18.04 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org, which states it’s the “nation’s premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics.” Martin raised $7.49 million and spent $7.5 million. Through Oct. 15, Nunn had raised $14.26 million and spent $13.15 million, and Perdue had raised $11.75 million and spent $11.08 million, according to the website.
Q: Do athletes in service academies have congressional appointments, or are they recruited like other players?
—George Getz, Decatur
A: Service academies, such as the U.S. Military Academy or U.S. Naval Academy, recruit athletes, but they also need appointments, a U.S. Military Academy athletic spokesman told Q&A on the News in an email. "They need to follow the application process like all cadets," he wrote.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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