The New York Times Notes: Tight Race Set to Follow Rough Runoff in Georgia

From The New York Times:

Polls before the primary predicted a close race in the general election between Mr. Barnes and either Mr. Deal or Ms. Handel. Political experts believe Mr. Deal has a slight advantage in the solidly conservative Southern state, especially in an election year that is expected to be tough for Democrats.

The Republican runoff was contentious, with Mr. Deal’s campaign accusing Ms. Handel of being insufficiently conservative on same-sex marriage and abortion and Ms. Handel calling Mr. Deal a “corrupt relic of Washington” and chiding him to “put on his big-boy pants.”

The race drew endorsements from several possible 2012 presidential candidates, with Sarah Palin campaigning for Ms. Handel and Mr. Deal receiving endorsements from Mike Huckabee, the former presidential candidate and Arkansas governor, and Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.

The impact of Ms. Palin’s endorsement was unclear. While her support has lifted the campaigns of other conservative women — including Nikki Haley, who is running for governor in South Carolina, and Sharron Angle, running for the Senate in Nevada — it did not provide the same assistance to Ms. Handel.

“This certainly takes some of the luster out of the Palin endorsements generally,” said Charles S. Bullock III, a political scientist at the University of Georgia.

Mr. Deal faces continued scrutiny over an Office of Congressional Ethics report in March that he had supported a Georgia program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for his family’s auto salvage business.