Calling the governor's race here "epic" and "historic," former Alaska governor Sarah Palin wrapped her arms around Karen Handel, the former secretary of state who is hoping to be Georgia's first female chief executive.
Kathleen Gustafson tells Sarah Palin that she left Alaska to become a celebrity.Palin whipped up the crowd of several hundred in a hotel ballroom here, just one day before the Republican runoff that will end a bitter three-week fight between Handel – one of Palin's "Mama Grizzlies" – and her rival, former Rep. Nathan Deal.
"Are you ready to 'Bring it On'?!," she said, using the Handel campaign's slogan.
The audience of enthusiastic supporters responded with cheers and chants of "Sa-rah!"
"It's epic. It's historic," Palin said, explaining why she became so interested in this race, pitting Handel against a veteran member of the state's Republican establishment.
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The Handel campaign has accused Deal of being "corrupt," pointing to allegations that while in Congress he pressured state officials into awarding a no-bid contract to a business he owns. Deal resigned from the House earlier in the year, curbing an ongoing ethics review, but speculation of a federal grand jury probe has dogged him.
The GOP establishment in the state firmly backs Deal. All but one member of Georgia's congressional delegation supports him, and he has earned the endorsement of native son Newt Gingrich and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who campaigned for Deal in Gainsville this past weekend. And he has the National Rifle Association in his corner.
"They said we didn't have a chance," Handel told supporters before Palin spoke. "They said we were the outsiders; that we weren't going to have enough money; that we weren't going to get any endorsements. Yet, three weeks ago, we shocked them all," Handel said, referring to her first-place finish in last month's GOP gubernatorial primary. The result earned her the spot in the runoff against Deal, who came in second.
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