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Listen Here! Martha Interviews Former Gov. Roy Barnes
Listen to Martha's exclusive interview with Roy Barnes: "Campaigning Until the End"

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"Campaigning Until the End"
By Susan McCord, The Augusta Chronicle

Four gubernatorial candidates with planes and friends in Augusta touched down Monday at Daniel Field, taking subtle jabs at each other and the establishment in a final campaign push.

"Augusta treats me well," remarked former Gov. Roy Barnes, the first candidate to appear and the only Democrat to fly in before today's general primary.

Barnes, who carried 61 percent of Richmond County voters against Gov. Sonny Perdue in 2002, faces five other candidates on the Democratic primary ballot, including Attorney General Thurbert Baker, who proposes funding education with electronic bingo.

Barnes said he was "tired of the nuts on both sides" making the Georgia Legislature the laughingstock of the nation.

"When you have conservatives that pass bills talking about outlawing microchips in folks, eating road kill and seceding from the union, that's not very attractive to industry," Barnes said.

Barnes, who has made eliminating teacher furloughs a campaign promise, said it means fully funding school systems -- and those who refuse might find it a condition of receiving state funds.

Longtime Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey appeared at Barnes' fly-in to show the support of law enforcement for Barnes, he said.

The first Republican candidate to appear, former Secretary of State Karen Handel, emphasized a modern approach to governing, including moving away from a "19th-century schoolhouse mentality" in education and lowering the dropout rate.

The state's Quality Basic Education funding mechanism "must be revised and modernized," Handel said. "It was put in place in the 1980s, and I don't think anything from the '80s is particularly applicable in today's world."

Handel warned against trusting her opponents' campaign promises.

"They've been in politics their whole lives, and they've had every chance to do those things."

Recently endorsed by former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Handel has the support of Augusta mayoral candidate Lori Davis, who said Handel's comments about dropouts resonated with her.

"I can't tell you the number of kids when I was teaching school that considered dropping out at 16," Davis said.

Sixteen-year-old Morgan County Young Conservative Caitlin Belton came to Augusta with a classmate for the Handel fly-in.

"To me she's the most honest of the candidates. She's the most down to earth," Belton said.

"We have stayed positive while the other candidates have been attacking each other," noted Eric Johnson, the second Republican to fly in, bringing along wife, Kathryn, and daughter Brighton.

"I've been running a business for the last 25 years while serving part time in the General Assembly," while his opponents have been "living on the taxpayers" for decades, Johnson said.

Augusta Commissioner Matt Aitken appeared to show support for Johnson, and Barnes drew Commissioner Bill Lockett, but the elected officials came out in force for Republican contender Nathan Deal. They included Augusta commissioners Don Grantham and Jimmy Smith, Columbia County Commissioners Trey Allen and Ron Cross, Columbia County Magistrate Bobby Christine, Augusta Rep. Barbara Sims and Appling Sen. Bill Jackson, who gave Deal a rousing introduction.

"We need a stable, level-headed person to carry us through these treacherous times," Jackson said.

Reminiscing about his youth in Sandersville and the birth of his son while he was stationed at Fort Gordon, Deal said he is a true conservative and the candidate who "can defeat Roy Barnes."

The son and husband of educators, Deal said he "will work to make sure we don't have any additional furloughs."

He said he was "bunched at the top" of polls with John Oxendine and Handel and would face one of them in the runoff Aug. 10. Johnson "is a good friend of mine, but he has just not polled sufficiently to put him at the top," Deal said.

Smith said he respected Deal greatly. "When he tells you he'll do something, he does it," he said.

Support that's probably divided evenly around Augusta among Handel, Deal and Johnson won't divide the party when a final nominee is chosen, said Dave Barbee, the chairman of the 10th District Republican Party.

"In the end they'll come together and support the candidate," Barbee said.

A Monday InsiderAdvantage poll put Handel far ahead at 28 percent, Deal with 17 percent, Johnson with 14 percent and Oxendine trailing with 13 percent.

"Everything's within striking distance," Barbee said.
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