Republicans seek chance to unseat House Democrat in Georgia

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Four Georgia Republicans vie on Tuesday for the chance to challenge U.S. Representative John Barrow, the last white Democrat in Congress from the Deep South, in the general election this fall.

Barrow, who has served in the House of Representatives since 2005, has no opposition in Tuesday's primary. But he will likely face a tough re-election battle in November after Georgia's Republican-led legislature increased the number of Republican voters in the state's eastern 12th congressional district.

"He was dealt a much more Republican district, 10 points more Republican than the district he had," said Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia.

Georgia's congressional districts were re-arranged when the state gained one House seat due to its rapid growth reflected in the 2010 Census.

Barrow is an anomaly these days in Congress. White Democratic congressmen have been vanishing from the political landscape in U.S. southern states as conservative white voters increasingly switch their allegiance to the Republican party, Bullock said.

"He will fight to hold onto the seat," Bullock said. "He will raise a ton of money, but it's an uphill fight."

The Republican candidates aiming to defeat Barrow in November are state Representative Lee Anderson, attorneys Wright McLeod and Maria Sheffield, and businessman Rick Allen.

Voters also will consider candidates in the state's new 9th congressional district gained after the 2010 Census.

The north Georgia district is heavily Republican, and the winner of the Republican primary on Tuesday is expected to become the state's newest member of Congress, Bullock said.

Martha Zoller, a radio talk show host, and Doug Collins, a state representative, are considered the front runners in the Republican contest in the new district.

Zoller has the endorsement of former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and former U.S. House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Collins has been endorsed by former Georgia governor Zell Miller.

Voters in metro Atlanta will consider a new tax that would fund $7.2 billion in transportation improvements for the gridlocked region.

The proposed penny-on-the-dollar transportation sales tax in the 10-county metro Atlanta region would pay for road and mass transit projects. The tax has gained high-profile endorsements from Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Governor Nathan Deal and CNN founder Ted Turner.

But polls show the proposed tax trailing in voter support. It has drawn opposition from some African American leaders, including John Evans, the NAACP president in DeKalb County, which is one of the most populated counties in the region.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Philip Barbara)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/republicans-seek-chance-unseat-house-democrat-georgia-125134866.html

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