Gainesville duo elected to state's top offices

ATLANTA - Nathan Deal of Gainesville has been elected Georgia's next governor, riding a Republican wave and beating back questions about his ethics and personal finances and fellow Gainesvillian, Casey Cagle, has won another term as lieutenant governor.

Deal, a former nine-term congressman, defeated former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, who was running to get his old job back after being ousted in 2002.

With 94 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial returns showed Deal with 53 percent of the vote to Barnes' 43 percent.

Deal was buoyed by a strong anti-Washington tide that energized GOP voters upset with President Barack Obama and Democrats in Washington.

During the campaign, Deal argued Barnes didn't deserve a second shot leading the state.

Deal will replace Gov. Sonny Perdue, who's barred by term limits from running again.

CAGLE RE-ELECTED

Cagle logged 56 percent of the vote against Democrat Carol Porter, a newcomer who promised to bring fresh views to the statehouse.

Elected in 2006, Cagle, 44, was the first Republican ever to hold the office and vowed to keep taxes low and encourage job growth in Georgia if he was given another four-year term.

Porter, a 51-year-old newspaper publisher, stepped forward to challenge Cagle after years spent running the campaigns of her husband DuBose Porter, a state legislative leader. Porter focused her campaign on pledging to boost education spending and improve infrastructure.

"Once you earn the people's trust and prove you can keep it for another term, it's very gratifying," said Cagle. "I'm humbled by the opportunity to continue serving Georgia. We're going to stick to the fiscal conservative principles that we've applied the last four years."