The results are almost all in from Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial runoff election — and it’s still too close to call.
With 99% of precincts reporting tonight, Ex-Rep. Nathan Deal leads Karen Handel 50.2%-49.8% — a difference of just about 2,500 votes out of nearly 600,000 ballots counted so far.
The Associated Press has reportedly announced that it will not call the race tonight, as it remains too close to call.
Deal stopped short of declaring victory — but said he was “encouraged by the numbers.” Handel urged supporters to “keep the faith,” and said there are still “a lot of votes to be counted out there.”
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that:
The race is too close to call, and an automatic recount is likely since less than 1 percent separates the candidates.
Both Deal and Handel quit their jobs — Handel from her Georgia secretary of state post, Deal from the House — to compete for the GOP’s gubernatorial nod. The first time the two met in July’s regular primary, Handel took home a greater share of the vote, topping Deal 34%-23%. Both contributed to what ended up being a particularly colorful campaign, with Handel nabbing Sarah Palin’s endorsement and the birther-curious Deal promising to use local cops to deport illegal immigrants, federal policies be damned.
The eventual GOP winner will face former Dem Gov. Roy Barnes in November.
Full coverage of the race here.
