NE Ga. congressman defeats well-funded challenger

ATLANTA - The doctor is in. Again.

U.S. Rep. Paul Broun fended off his well-funded Republican challenger Tuesday, the second time in less than a year the physician has defeated an opponent backed by Georgia's powerful Republican establishment.

Broun's commanding victory over Barry Fleming, an attorney and high-ranking state legislator, comes 11 months after he eked out victory in a runoff against a state senator considered to be the GOP frontrunner.

With 58 percent of the precincts reporting, Broun was leading Fleming by more than 11,000 votes. Broun was outpacing Fleming in every county, including opening a lead in the Augusta area, where Fleming resides.

Both candidates had worked furiously to outflank each other on the right, a proven strategy in the 10th Congressional District. Stretching from Augusta to Athens, the district is one of the nation's most conservative.

Broun had failed in three bids for congressional office before running last year to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood. He managed a spot in a run-off in a crowded field, and bested former state Sen. Jim Whitehead by less than 400 votes in an August runoff.

He quickly became a target among the more established Republicans because of his knack for bucking the party line. His first congressional vote was in favor of a measure that barred the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana cases, and he followed suit with a handful of other votes that broke ranks with his GOP colleagues.

His votes also attracted a fierce challenge from Fleming, an attorney who lives near Augusta. As a high ranking politician in the Georgia House, Fleming helped pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and a measure to change the state's medical malpractice limits.

Fleming raised more than $920,000 in the run-up to the election, keeping pace with the roughly $1 million raised by Broun.

Both candidates pledged to represent conservative values, with Fleming promising to "walk the walk" for traditional family values and Broun vowing to unravel the federal government's "huge ball of twine of socialism."

Throughout the campaign, Fleming took aim at Broun's votes, calling his philosophy "strange and outlandish." Broun, meanwhile, insisted the votes helped limit the government.