Ga Gov. Nathan Deal gets endorsement from Karen Handel

Looks like Georgia Goveor Nathan Deal is getting some help in his reelection bid from his 2010 rival and former Secretary of State Karen Handel (R) who endorsed him today, according to a report by the Atlanta-Joual Constitution.

Handel ran in the 2010 election for Goveor, and lost to Deal by just 2500 votes.  The primary campaign was heated and their relationship seemed - at best - strained.

But Deal’s reelection bid has been surprisingly difficult in a red state. He’s been polling neck and neck with his challenger Democrat Jason Carter for many weeks now.  The goveor can use any help he can get.

The last poll from the InsiderAdvantage (IA) shows a tie again, 43.4 percent going for Carter, and 43.7 for Deal.  The Republican can certainly count on most of the Libertarian vote (4 percent for Andrew Hunt) to cross over to his side in a runoff, but since there are still 8.9 percent undecided voters Deal needs to appeal to a wider demographic in order to win.

According to the IA poll, Deal is getting majority of the vote from 65 or older voters, but all other age groups go for Carter.  The goveor also had to get serious about the female vote, which just few weeks ago he was losing by double digits, according to some surveys.  Incidentally, Handel gets quite a bit of support from younger voters and women.

When asked how she got passed some of the issues she had with the goveor, Handel said it was a matter of deciding what was best for the state.

”I am trying to look at the big picture. There are a lot of things that take priority over past contests. I’m looking at what’s best and right for our state and Georgians, said Handel. ”Gov.  Deal has done a good job. And when we look at the next four years the question is do we want to have the steady hand of experience and maturity or do we want to pass it off to someone who is inexperienced?

Deal’s wife Sandra just made her debut in an ad for the goveor last week, where she stressed the ”maturity issue as well.  The goveor is 72 years-old, and has been in elected office since 1993. Carter is 39, and was elected to Georgia Senate in 2010.  It remains to be seen if underscoring that age difference works in Deal’s favor.