SAVANNAH - The Democrat son of a powerful lawmaker and the Republican wife of a storied ex-football coach lead their parties' primaries Tuesday night for one of two new U.S. House seats on Georgia primary ballots. <br>
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Voters had to choose nominees from lists of unfamiliar candidates scattered across strange geography in the new 12th and 13th Districts. Both were drawn as open seats that favor Democrats, and the crush of Democratic candidates makes a September Tenth runoff likely in each. <br>
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In the 12th District, stretching 200 miles from Savannah to Augusta to Athens, Charles ``Champ'' Walker Junior of Augusta leads a field of seven Democrats. <br>
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Walker, son of state Senate Democratic Leader Charles Walker, has five-thousand, 288 votes or 51 percent with 60 of 234 precincts reporting. Savannah attorney Tony Center is next with a thousand, 948 votes or 19 percent. <br>
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In the Republican primary, Athens talk radio host Barbara Dooley lead Max Burns, a Georgia Southern University professor from Sylvania. <br>
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Dooley, wife of University of Georgia athletic director and ex-coach Vince Dooley, has three-thouand, 539 votes or 55 percent. Burns has 29-hundred votes or 45 percent. <br>
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In the squid-shaped 13th District, centered in Jonesboro, veteran state Senator David Scott of Atlanta leads a field of five Democrats with 46 percent of the vote with 40 of 171 precincts reporting. <br>
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Following neck-and-neck with 20 percent of the vote apiece are Jonesboro attorney David Worley, former chairman of the state Democratic Party, with 738 votes and state Senator Greg Hecht of Jonesboro with 733 votes.
