For the Democrats (as expected) Roy Barnes dominated bringing in over 65% (with 99% of precincts reporting) of the votes, winning the democratic party nomination. Roy Barnes served one term as Georgia’s Governor from 1999 to 2003.

For the Republicans the race was tight, Karen Handel pulled in over 34% of the votes (with 99% of precincts reporting) but it’s not enough to secure a nomination, Handel needs 50% of the votes and will now inevitably enter a runoff with Nathan Deal. The State of Georgia requires a runoff if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.

Here are the numbers for each party and candidate. We show number of votes and percentages, as reported by the Secretary of State website.

Gubernatorial Primary Results

Democrats:

• Baker – 85,355 – 21.6%
• Barnes – 258,873 – 65.6%
• Bolton – 3,566 – 0.9%
• Camon – 4,163 – 1.1%
• Mangham – 3,114 – 0.8%
• Porter – 17,752 – 4.5%
• Poythress – 21,762 – 5.5%

Totals – 394,585 – 100.0%

Republicans:

• Chapman – 20,594 – 3.0%
• Deal – 155,795 – 22.9%
• Handel – 231,713 – 34.1%
• Johnson – 136,652 – 20.1%
• McBerry – 17,149O – 2.5%
• Oxendine – 115,253 – 17.0%
• Putnam – 2,542 – 0.4%

Totals – 679,698 – 100.0%

Check out our post for all other elections here Statewide Primary Results

What are your thoughts on the results? Did your candidate do as well as you thought/hoped? In the coming months the Gubernatorial race will undoubtedly get exciting.

An interesting point is the number of voters for each party, with Republicans pulling in almost 670,000 votes while Democrats getting just shy of 395,000. Is this a worth while number to look at? Will Republicans cross party lines and vote Democratic come November? Or were democrats just not worried about Barnes pulling it out in the primary?

The results displayed are UNOFFICIAL AND INCOMPLETE until certified by both county election superintendents and the Secretary of State, a process that will not be completed until the week of July 26. These unofficial returns, transmitted by counties to the Secretary of State’s Data Center on election night, are under continuous review for formatting accuracy and are subject to correction at any time.

NOTE: Provisional results not included in races and/or counties with less than 100% of precincts reporting.

Ray McBerry has responded to the allegations via his website, you can read his response here. In this response McBerry states “The story of those making the allegations has changed at least four times; and even the reporter pushing this story has acknowledged in a voicemail to me that those telling it have also changed their story to him in the last week. The allegations are false and even the few shreds of truth that have been allowed to remain are countenanced in a false light by an admixture of half-truths.”

You can watch Karen Handel’s statement from Saturday here on YouTube:

Obviously, this is a good sign the gloves have come off in the GOP Gubernatorial battle.

What is your take?

With a background in civil service as a city council member, mayor and a number of other government boards, Camon believes in the ideals of public service. “I’ve worked to return government back to the people and I’ve treated citizens like they deserved to be treated,” he told Georgia.com, about what he sees as some of his greatest contributions to Georgia.

It’s that belief in himself and his track record which motivated Camon to make a run for the seat of governor during this next election. “I could have supported another candidate, or sat back and complained about our current situation,” he said. “Instead, I chose to lead by example and I have the ability to facilitate positive and long lasting change for Georgia.”

Georgia.com: A reoccurring sentiment in Georgia and the rest of the country seems to be that government has become too large and intrusive. Is this something you believe to be true?
Camon: In some ways, this is true. However, we live in a democracy, where there are legal elections held during specified periods of time. The people cast their votes to elect a representative who will speak on their behalf. If government is too large and intrusive, it became that way either because of the general consent of the people or a blatant disregard for the people, by the very ones who were elected to represent the people.

I will work to assess all state services and programs and ensure that each one submits a plan to the governor’s office that includes measures that offer ways to be more efficiently operated. Each agency will also be required to provide a comprehensive report as to the effectiveness of that agency and how Georgians are benefiting from its existence and what impact would be made if the agency was downsized or eliminated. Based on the information above, care consideration and determinations will be made, with regards to what agencies will be effective.

Georgia.com: What specifically are your plans for potentially shrinking or streamlining Georgia government?
Camon: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Independents alike, deserve to have a Governor who will recognize that our country is still a democracy and that the voices of the people are supreme. I will be that governor.

Georgia.com: The state unemployment rate has skyrocketed. What are your plans for job creation and potentially making Georgia a more business friendly venue that will encourage entrepreneurship, attract existing business and increase investment in our economy?
Camon: Under my administration, we will market Georgia. “If you need it, Georgia’s Got It.” [We will] market our mountains, coast, Southern Hospitality, agriculture, world’s busiest airport, film industry possibilities, institutions of higher learning; [we will] offer incentives that will clearly create jobs for Georgians.

Georgia.com: Traffic flow and congestion have been problems in and around Atlanta for some time. What steps would you take as Governor to improve, not only Atlanta’s transportation systems and infrastructure, but Georgia’s as a whole?
Camon: I was one of the first candidates to publically and seriously support the idea of high-speed rail, especially during many of the gubernatorial debates. Atlanta is important and we will work with the Department of Transportation to devise a plan to decrease gridlock and increase traffic flow in the Metro Area. We will also find a way to fund (in phases) high-speed rail throughout Georgia.

Georgia.com Staff Report — This article is part of the Georgia.com Gubernatorial Election Series.

Each week, over the next 14 weeks, Georgia.com will highlight each candidate independently. Discussing their strengths, weaknesses and their stand on the issues. It will be important for the candidates to see you chime in and provide your opinions and feedback on the issues.

Before we begin to highlight the candidates themselves, let’s talk about where Georgia has been, where it is now and where its heading. Here are some interesting facts about Georgia from the last decade:

Past:

• State Population : 8,186,453 / yr. 2000 (source: U.S. Census)
• State GDP : $290.9 billion / yr. 2000 (source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce)
• State Education Rank : Ranked 47th /yr. 2000 (on a 1 to 51 scale, 1 being best, source: alec.org)
• Per Capita Income : $27,794 /yr. 2000 (source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce)

Present: (or close)

• State Population : 9,685,744 / yr. 2009 / 18.3% increase (source: U.S. Census)
• State GDP : $397.8 billion / yr. 2008 (source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce)
• State Education Rank : Ranked 44th / yr. 2008 (on a 1 to 51 scale, 1 being best, source: alec.org)
• Per Capita Income : $34,893 / yr. 2008 (source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce)

As you can see, our population has grown by almost 20% (and this is a 2009 estimate) over 10 years. That works out to an estimated growth of 12,495 new Georgians a month! Our State GDP has increased over 12% and is the 26th ranked GDP in the world as of 2008 (based on World Bank figures). Our education rank is low at 44, but better than eight years prior. Our per capita income growth rate is ranked 49th in the nation, as of 2008 figures. It should also be noted that between 1980 and 1996 Georgia ranked first in per capita income growth rate.

As we near the election of a new Governor of Georgia, the issues that we face not only as a state but as a nation are in full effect. It has been a tough time for people all over our great country. The changes or remedies we attempt from this point will undoubtedly define us for years to come. This is a defining moment.

We have estimated, what we think to be, the list of the top 10 Georgia political issues. Please feel free to add to our list, or create a new Voice for the issues that we may have missed or that are important to you.

The issues and the questions:

• State Debt : $1.251 billion (est. 2009 / source: State of Georgia Budget Report)
• Taxes : How are you effected? Lower them? Or Raise them? And for who?
• Education : Can we do better? Average Teacher salary in Georgia = $48,300.00
• Privacy : How do you feel about Government and your privacy?
• Gun Control : Are we headed for tighter restrictions?
• Immigration : What is your stance?
• Property Taxes : Should they be eliminated?
• Economy : What are the steps to encourage growth?
• Small Business : What can we do to help Small Businesses?
• Transportation : How can we fix the issues with transportation? What areas would you focus on?

The Candidates: (in alphabetical order of first name)
Candidates website and twitter accounts provided here.

• Austin Scott : http://www.scottforga.com : @scottforga
• David Poythress : http://www.poythressforgovernor.com : @davidpoythress
• Dubose Porter : http://www.porterforga.com : @porterforga
• Eric Johnson : http://www.johnsonforgeorgians.com : @johnson4georgia
• Jeff Chapman : http://www.jeffchapmanforgovernor.com : @chapmanforgov
• John Monds : http://www.votemonds.com : @votemonds
• John Oxendine : http://www.johnoxendine.com : @johnoxendine
• Karen Handel : http://www.karenhandel.com : @karenhandel
• Nathan Deal : http://www.dealforgovernor.com : @votedeal
• Ray McBerry : http://www.georgiafirst.org : @georgiafirst
• Roy Barnes : http://www.roy2010.com : @roy_2010
• Thurbert Baker : http://www.thurbertbaker.com : @thurbertbaker

No shortage of options in this race, and there’s a lot to digest. Next week our coverage begins of each candidate in our Georgia2010 Voices! We will learn the candidates beliefs and stance on issues with relevant information that may affect, good or bad, these candidates run for Governor of our great state of Georgia.
So what do you think Georgia? What are your answers to the issues? Let the discussions begin!