Barnes edges GOP rival for Georgia's top spot
(AllPolitics, November 3) -- Democrat Roy Barnes edged GOP challenger Guy Millner to win Georgia's governorship to keep intact a long-standing run of Democrats in the state's top office.
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Roy Barnes
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Georgia is the only state where a Republican has not held the governorship in the 20th century. This year's contest for the governor's mansion was wide open due to Democratic Gov. Zell Miller's forced retirement after two
terms.
The 1998 battle for the governor's mansion went into record books as the costliest ever at more than $25 million.
Financial disclosure reports filed October 26 showed the rags-to-riches businessman Millner spent almost $15 million. That included $11.5 million in money the GOP candidate loaned the campaign in personal funds. And it included money he spent winning the GOP primary this summer.
Barnes, also a millionaire, served 22 years in the state General Assembly and spent almost $9 million for this year's campaign, including during the primary contest.
Much of the money was spent on TV ads. Outgoing Gov. Miller endorsed Barnes in a TV commercial. But the Republican candidate still had a significant advantage in TV advertising. Millner unveiled one ad days before the election accusing Barnes of racial divisiveness. The spot said Barnes tailored two different messages for blacks and whites.
The issue was affirmative action. Barnes said he supported affirmative action as a way "to make up for past wrongs and create a level playing field." However, his ads said he was opposed to quotas. Barnes later announced he would rather lose the election than divide the state by race.
In one of several debates, Millner pointed out there was no affirmative action program to help him when he entered college. Barnes responded that Millner would not have needed one because he already had an edge being a white male.
Nunn joins bus tour
Democrats were unified throughout the campaign, hoping to hang onto the office the party has held for 125 years. Barnes, Miller and former Sen. Sam Nunn joined other prominent Democrats for an 11-city bus tour through the state during the final week of the race.
Millner and Barnes generally agreed on the need for lower taxes and tougher penalties for criminals, so the Democrat spent much of his time criticizing health maintenance organizations. The two candidates also differed on how to combat crime and improve education.
Barnes's personal resources and Millner's limited appeal made this a very competitive race. The only Republican ever to finish first in a gubernatorial election since Reconstruction was Howard "Bo" Callaway in 1966. But Callaway didn't get a majority of the votes cast then, throwing the election into the state Legislature, which elected the second-place finisher, Democrat Lester Maddox.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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