Deal defeats Barnes in Georgia Governor race

History often repeats itself, but not Tuesday night when Republican Nathan Deal defeated Democrat Roy Barnes and Libertarian John Monds for the position as Georgia’s governor.

Deal won with a comfortable 10 percent margin lead, around 246,000 votes. Monds brought in over 100,000 votes, around four percent. Deal will be taking over for current governor Sonny Perdue. Deal took southeastern Georgia, parts of north Atlanta and most of north Georgia. Barnes grabbed most of the urban parts of Georgia such as Savannah, Macon, Columbus and Albany.

“Georgia has placed its faith in the Republican Party and we’re not going to let them down,” Deal said during his victory speech. “I will give you a full day’s work for the next four years. We’re going to make you proud of what this state can be.”

Deal was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 as a Democrat, but switched to Republican in 1995. Deal resigned from the House of Representatives in the spring to run for governor. After defeating Karen Handel in the primaries, Deal ran a campaign opposing Barnes on various issues.

Deal has spoken on focusing state spending to four major issues—education, public safety, transportation and health case. He has also supported the idea of strict immigration laws similar to Arizona’s immigration policy. Deal wants to end birthright citizenship for those born on American soil under his interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s wording. Deal does not believe abortion should be an option except if the mother’s life is in danger.

The campaign between Deal and Barnes focused on attacks on each other more than self-promotion. Barnes focused on Deal’s previous investments and financial troubles. Deal focused on problems during and after Barnes’ previous term as governor.

In Baldwin County, Barnes won the vote by a margin of 556 votes, approximately 10 percent of his total votes in the county. Students on campus had varied opinions of Deal’s victory.

“I think it’s good for the state of Georgia. Although Roy Barnes promised to help the unemployment rate in Georgia, the policies that Nathan Deal will instate will be more beneficial and bring true promise to Georgians of all walks,” said junior management major Brad Berg.

“I don’t think he should have gotten elected,” said sophomore exercise science major Brianna Shallis. “If he can’t balance his own budget, he can’t balance Georgia’s budget. He’s like $1.5 million in debt.”

According to The Associated Press, Deal and his business partner owe a combined $2.85 million.

Tuesday’s victory for Deal was one of many for the Republican Party. Over 20 states elected Republican governors, totaling 29, with three races still not called at publication. Republicans also made inroads in the Senate and House of Representatives, where they took more than 218 seats for the majority.

Posted by Matt Chambers on Nov 5 2010. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.