Rhetoric Rises in Home Stretch of Governor's Race

Published July 18, 2010 at 8:18 a.m.

ATLANTA (AP) The campaign for governor steamed into the home stretch on Saturday with Republicans brawling about gender amid a cry of sexism from the lone woman in the race. The leading Democrats, meanwhile, stuck to tried-and-true stump speeches and avoided any direct clashes.

With Tuesday's primary approaching, the 14 candidates for governor spread across the state on Saturday as they tried to whip up last-minute support.

The fireworks were in the GOP race, where a recent poll showed state insurance commissioner John Oxendine, former secretary of state Karen Handel and ex-U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal battling for an expected runoff.

Handel accused Deal of sexism by pointing to a press release from his campaign saying that ``real women'' support his campaign. Handel said that attacked her own female supporters, including her most prominent backer: former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

``That just really disappointing,'' Handel told The Associated Press.

Asked if the attack was sexist Handel said, ``of course it is.''

Deal called the claim ``absurd'' and said he was simply using campaign branding the word ``real'' he's adopted since the election began. His campaign slogan is ``Deal. Real.''

``That certainly was not meant to impugn anybody,'' Deal said.

The escalating rhetoric comes after a recent poll showed a tight race between the three leading Republican contenders.

Another Republican in the contest Eric Johnson blasted Handel for playing the gender card. Johnson noted that the former secretary off state went negative first, attacking her opponents' ethics.

``Ms. Handel started this whole thing with calling everyone else corrupt and she's the only one who wears lipstick so she's the only one who's not corrupt,'' Johnson told the AP.

``It's disingenuous to say she is being attacked when she started it and she started it by playing the gender card.''

Handel, Deal and Johnson all attended a Republican barbecue in Roswell, shaking hands and lobbying for support.

State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine skipped the GOP-fest and instead knocked on doors in an upscale neighborhood in Cherokee County with his wife, Ivy.

At one home in Woodstock, Oxendine made his pitch that the recession is a good opportunity to fundamentally change and downsize government.

``If we want to get government smaller we have to fundamentally change the way it functions,'' he told a couple doing yard work.

On Handel, Oxendine agreed with his GOP rivals: she started it.

``I'm not going to let her run from her record,'' he said.

Among Democrats, former Gov. Roy Barnes started the day Saturday as the featured speaker at a breakfast of roughly 80 Democrats in Henry County. Barnes offered a folksy critique of happenings under the state Capitol gold dome since he was voted out of office in 2002.

Barnes mocked Republican lawmakers for considering a bill making it a crime to put implant microchips in people without their consent it didn't pass or a new law allowing motorists to keep and eat roadkill.

``I don't know about y'all but I don't like my 'possums after they're hit by that tractor-trailer truck. I like them before they've been damaged,'' Barnes said, as the crowd laughed.

``And instead of worrying about education and transportation and solving the water problems of our state, we're worrying about road kill and microchips. What happened to us?''

Barnes' past term as governor was a selling point for several Democrats at the rally.

``He's had some experience,'' said Janet Sutton of McDonough. ``I think once you've been in a position before you can benefit by learning from your mistakes and come back re-energized.''

Attorney General Thurbert Baker spent part of Saturday shaking hands and posing for pictures at a packed health care fair at St. Philip African Methodist Episcopal Church in Atlanta. His wife and two daughters helped greet potential voters and handed out fliers.

Joyce Kelly, 55, a substitute teacher, gave Baker a hug. She lacks health insurance and goes from clinic to clinic seeking medication. She became a Baker supporter after Republican lawmakers tried to impeach the attorney general because he would not sue the federal government to block President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The impeachment effort failed.

``We need insurance,'' she said. ``I can't get insurance.''

Baker took one swipe at his Democratic opponents, saying he's the only candidate in the primary with a clear plan for education funding.

``I'm the only candidate that's not only talked about education reform but a way to pay for it as well,'' Baker said.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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