State Political Profile: Georgia
Governor
Gov. Sonny Perdue, who four years ago became the states first Republican governor since 1872, wants to make history again by becoming the first Republican ever re-elected as the states top executive.
He faces Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, who defeated Secretary of State Cathy Cox in a bruising Democratic primary that left him nearly broke. The pair spent millions of dollars filling Georgia's airwaves with ads attacking each other. Taylor won 52 percent of the vote to Cox's 44 percent in the July 18 primary.
Meanwhile, Perdue easily defeated token opposition in the GOP primary, winning 88 percent of the vote without having to spend much of his campaign finances.
Perdue, who pulled off an upset of Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes in 2002 on a shoestring budget, is learning the advantage of incumbency. He entered the general election campaign with $9.1 million in the bank.
Perdue, who switched parties when he was a state senator, is credited with leading the historic GOP takeover of the Georgia Legislature. Soon after his election as governor in 2002, he convinced four of his old colleagues to switch parties, giving Republicans the majority in the state Senate. The majority grew stronger in the 2004 elections, when the House also fell under the party's control.
But Perdue's first years in the governor's office were shaped by budget cuts as the state was slow to pull out of the national recession that started in 2001. The state was forced to slash spending and dip deep into its "rainy day" reserve fund.
Children in low-income families lost state health insurance coverage. Public school teachers, who helped elect Perdue in 2002, didn't get their first pay raise until last year. Even then, it was just 2 percent and offset by steep hikes in health insurance premiums.
As Georgia's economy has improved, Perdue is trying to win back teachers' support with his election-year legislative agenda. This year, teachers received 4 percent salary increases coupled with a freeze on health premiums and they pocketed $100 gift cards from the state to buy classroom supplies. Lawmakers also approved Perdue's proposals to curb class sizes and devote more funding to the classrooms
Taylor was elected lieutenant governor in 1998 after a decade in the state Senate. On the campaign trail he has been promoting his work helping to create Georgia's lottery, which funds the state's popular HOPE college scholarships. He has also taken credit for creating state-funded pre-kindergarten classes, removing the sales tax from groceries, and enacting tough anti-crime legislation known as "two strikes."
If he's elected governor, the self-described "big guy" pledges to remove the sales tax from prescription drugs and provide universal health care to all of Georgia's children.
The two candidates have some personal history. When Perdue left the Democratic Party in 1998, Taylor, as lieutenant governor, was at the helm of the state Senate. Soon afterward Perdue complained that his bills were being bottled up. Taylor's response: "Cry me a river."
When Republicans took over the state Senate they enacted revenge, stripping the lieutenant governor of much of his power.
U.S. House
Republicans, who currently hold a 7-6 advantage over Democrats in Georgias congressional delegation, have the best shot of gaining seats in this years elections with two former congressmen trying to defeat Democratic incumbents.
Former one-term Rep. Max Burns is trying to win back his old seat from Democratic Rep. John Barrow of Athens in a rematch of their tight 2004 12th District race, which was decided by 3.6 percentage points. The states Republican-controlled Legislature has redrawn the districts boundaries to be more favorable to Republicans, yet Barrow has outpaced Burns fundraising by a 2-to-1 margin.
Former six-term Rep. Mac Collins, who gave up his seat in House in 2004 to run for the Senate but lost to Johnny Isakson in the GOP primary, is seeking represent a different district this time around. He is challenging two-term Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon in the 3rd District that was redrawn by the states Republicans to include Collins hometown of Jackson, but still includes much of Marshalls old territory.
-- Associated Press
