Endgame: Handel concedes to Deal in Georgia gubernatorial runoff
posted at 12:50 pm on August 11, 2010 by Allahpundit
Handel actually finished ahead of him in the primary three weeks ago, but not even having Palin on the trail for her could stop Deal from closing.
Here’s her statement forgoing a recount in the name of party unity, which is smart thinking given her future in the party. Out: Sarah Palin, Republican kingmaker. In: Mike Huckabee, Republican kingmaker?
I want to thank all of my friends, supporters, volunteers and my campaign team for a tremendous effort over the last 16 months. We ran a terrific campaign, beat the odds to come in first place in the Primary, and came so very close in the runoff election.
As of this morning, we are four tenths of a percentage point behind Nathan Deal with absentee ballots and overseas military votes yet to be counted.
We certainly have the option of requesting the automatic statewide recount. But we are not going to do that.
The best thing for our party is to rally around Congressman Deal as our nominee in the fight against Roy Barnes. Barnes would return Georgia to a past that is best kept in our rearview mirror. We must marshal all of our resources to defeat him.
Speaking of party unity, at least one disgruntled Handel fan is circulating this old story on Twitter this morning. Heh. Also, for the record, this wasn’t just a Huck/Palin proxy war: Romney backed Handel too while native Georgian Newt Gingrich has been supporting Deal for weeks. Exit question for Palinistas: Blame Mitt?
Blowback
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I was out of town for most of this (got back a few days before the runoff vote) so I missed most of the back and forth, but Deal ran a nasty radio ad against Handel, calling her a liar. Maybe that had something to do with her loss. Also, apparently she had the support of Log Cabin Republicans which Deal used against her. Details here.
f.w.i.w., I was for Handel before Romney or Palin endorsed her – because of her executive/Sec of State experience, so they had no influence on my vote.
Buy Danish on August 11, 2010 at 3:22 PM
Surprising that AP would use this to attack Palin /sarc
Even more surprising when considering Deal won by claiming Handel had some secret “Gay Agenda”. But I guess anything goes when the prime objective is to diminish Palin.
Of course, never mind that a 0.2% swing in the vote would have resulted in a Handel win.
Norwegian on August 11, 2010 at 3:33 PM
I had my Hallelujah chorus ready for a Handel victory.
Nyuk nyuk.
Terrie on August 11, 2010 at 3:39 PM
I ain’t buying the unity thing, mainly because I wanted incumbents voted out. I am tired of the good ol boy networks and politics and bottom line that is what got Deal this win. All of the long time politicians lined up on his side, including many members of the Georgia legislature who didn’t want a relative outsider coming in and upsetting their apple cart.
I will think long and hard about casting a vote for Deal, but no worry I dang sure ain’t voting for ex governor Barnes. The teachers union saw to it that he didn’t get reelected 8 years ago and now his whole campaign revolves around kissing their backside. Pretty disgusting actually.
Karen handled it with grace but I will be curious to see what the final vote tally is once they count all the absentee and early votes.
Just A Grunt on August 11, 2010 at 3:44 PM
Unbelievable the contortions of logic that are pulled to find some “national significance” in a state political campaign.
Nathan Deal is very well known in Georgia. He had the full support of Newt Gingrich, who is FROM Georgia and very influential in GA politics. Huckabee was a throw in. Not relevant.
So, Palin endorsed Deal’s opponent. So did Mitt. I hate to break this to the punditry out there, but such endorsements only help with NAME recognition, generating some buzz, some free press coverage. They do NOT swing voters who know the candidates much better, on the state level, than any national politician does. And far better than any member of the intellectually lazy national press (and we can throw blog-hosts in as well).
Tenths of a point separating two state candidates in a primary and we are reading banners about death knells for some national figure’s future or trumpets for the one who got the photo-op with the winner? Give me a break. And, a little more credit, while you’re at it.
IndieDogg on August 11, 2010 at 3:45 PM
Give me a friggin break. Palin and Romney’s endorsement didn’t mean squat in this race. Palin endorsed the RINO, Karen Handel, when 80% of the repub voters were pulling for other candidates. The moron from Alaska blew it in Georgia. She backed a pro-abortion, pro-gay benefits RINO. It is obvious the only thing Palin cared about is the fact her favorite candidate didn’t have a penis. Romney jumped on the Handel bandwagon after the primary race. Most people down here forgot Newt once lived here. Schmuckabee fired up the snake handlers, that’s all.
David in ATL on August 11, 2010 at 4:00 PM
Why blame anyone? Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. That is just the way it is.
Terrye on August 11, 2010 at 4:04 PM
To those that think Handel has class…..I fart in your general direction. Ask anyone that has worked for her what she is like in person. She has the mouth of a longshoreman and the temper of a deranged idiot. She’s verbally abusive to all of her subordinates. Her resume is packed with lies and she panders almost as much as BO. I hope she moves to another state where she can find a fan base that supports pathologically dishonest RINO’s.
David in ATL on August 11, 2010 at 4:08 PM
call me old fashioned, but I view voting as if I’m hiring someone for a job. In today’s private economy, it is near impossible to land a job unless you have a college degree. Should a candidate not posess even the most basic post-high school degree, I find it very hard to pull the lever for them. I’m results oriented, and if someone can’t even finish that basic life step, why entrust them to running an entire state? So, I guess I’m a ‘no-degree’phobe, but for me, that’s important and I don’t think I”m alone in that opinion.
gatorboy on August 11, 2010 at 4:15 PM
Evil Roy Barnes is actually running on a platform of giving teachers a pay raise. The rest of the nation is finally waking up to the problem of greedy unions; Barnes is about ten years behind the curve.
slickwillie2001 on August 11, 2010 at 4:33 PM
Handel made the right decision by conceding. Sooner or later, Republicans will have to unite around a single candidate, and that candidate will need fundraising and a “ground game” to win enough Independent voters to outpoll the Democrat.
If Handel waited for absentee and military ballots to be counted, then tried to force a recount if the margin was reduced, a lot of precious time and money would be wasted on the recounts (and possible litigation), which would be better spent uniting the party and rallying the almost-half of Republicans to the candidate of the other little-more-than-half.
Handel selflessly gave up a very slim chance of becoming Governor (most recounts are won by the candidate in the lead before the recount) for a better chance that someone in her own party will become Governor. A recount would be worth pursuing against a Democrat, if state law allowed it, but after a primary AND a runoff, this late in the year, a recount would be too divisive.
Is Sarah Palin “out” as a Republican kingmaker? Just because one of her endorsed candidates lost a squeaker? Georgia politics are not Alaska politics, and Georgia Republicans may have any number of reasons for choosing Deal over Handel that Sarah Palin may not understand. Newt Gingrich probably understands Georgia voters better than Palin does, because he represented them for so long, and may have had his own reasons for supporting Deal.
For now, Sarah Palin seems to be more of a “queenmaker” than a “kingmaker”–she has endorsed many more female candidates (Carly Fiorina, Sharron Angle, Nikki Haley, Kelly Ayotte, Karen Handel) than male candidates. This may be part of her “mama grizzly” movement to promote the election of conservative women, but Republican voters (half of whom are men) don’t always have to agree with her choice.
Steve Z on August 11, 2010 at 4:39 PM
Mitt and Palin took very little political risk in endorsing Handel.. she came off of a strong primary vote and was the clear leader in the polls at the time these two ‘finger in the wind’ folks tossed their hats into the ring. Just a cheap ploy to stay in the headlines and try to stay relevant for both of them IMO.
gatorboy on August 11, 2010 at 4:55 PM
Good Deal. The outcome, I mean.
Tres Angelas on August 11, 2010 at 6:11 PM
Speaking as a Palinista AND a citizen of the state of Georgia, Palin was backing the wrong candidate. Handel would have been wiped with the floor by Barnes, and Nathan is just a better person. He has more experience, and he knows what he’s doing. He will be a fantastic governor for Georgia.
MsUnderestimated on August 11, 2010 at 8:27 PM
Handel would have been wiped with the floor by BarnesOops! Meant to say “Barnes would have wiped the floor with Handel.”
Handel was a one-trick pony; smear all your opponents and deluge the media with negativity. She got at least one “pants-on-fire” by Politifact. She would have been BAD for Georgia.
MsUnderestimated on August 11, 2010 at 8:29 PM
Amen, my fellow GA neighbor. I didn’t work for Handel, but when she refused the first primary debate because of charges against McBerry, I was really put off. How would she fare in a battle with the TN Water Authority? Then this morning on WSB-TV, Deal was on, but Handel declined to appear. In fact, by the anchors reports, she also declined to attend the Republican Unity Breakfast later on this morning. EPIC FAIL for Handel.
MsUnderestimated on August 11, 2010 at 8:33 PM
I wish I could be a fan of all of the big name Rs right now, but I just don’t see them out there fighting the liberal agenda and taking the discussion away from the MSM like Palin. Instead of analyzing the horse race while the horses are still in the barn, let’s see if our leaders do their jobs–inspire the base to be active and involved. If they aren’t doing that now, I won’t be interested in supporting them in 2012.
Palin or Mitt probably got Handel 25% of the vote with their pre-primary endorsement, but all endorsements do is get you through the primary to where the real race lies. In the end, Handel was no Nikki Haley in a pantsuit. Handel didn’t do enough to garner the other 25% of the vote. The only race that Sarah Palin will be fully responsible for will be her own, if she runs; but if she does, it will be her campaign, and not that of some smooth-talking wizard of Washington.
Fully half of the persons I know who voted against Palin’s endorsement rather than for Nathan Deal are actually Democrats. They may well have helped oust the weaker candidate by indulging their PDS. I had to help them wipe the foam from around their mouths while they were talking, but when they failed to shut up I got tired of watching the vulgar show and waiting for something intelligent to exit their mouths.
rwenger43 on August 11, 2010 at 11:21 PM
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Sure… All things do not have to add up to zero, in life or in politics.
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Sarah will not lose a single vote in 2012 as a result of this election. Of course I could be wrong, but I doubt that anyone is going to change their mind from Sarah to Mitt because Sarah backed Handel.
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On the other hand Mitt gets the small brag about this race, which was a win for Deal, but not a by much. And to off set most of that… Sarah’s pick shows some class and calls for unity. It’s not quite a wash all around, but I see no lasting damage or gain here. Perhaps a hair to Mitt.
RalphyBoy on August 12, 2010 at 2:17 AM
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Sorry… All those old time white guy Repubs are starting to merge into one in my old white guy brain. Both of those posts should have said Mike Huckabee where I typed Mitt. Pffft…
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RalphyBoy on August 12, 2010 at 10:41 AM
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