No candidate stands out in Georgia governor's race

ATLANTA --- When John Oxendine refused to commit to campaign for the transportation-sales-tax amendment to the constitution during a June 15 forum, he was giving a hint about strategy.

At the same forum, Eric Johnson, Nathan Deal and Oxendine gave qualified acceptance of interbasin transfers of water from one river drainage area to another under some circumstances. Karen Handel is taking the opposite tack. Both stances reveal something about their various strategies.

Strategy and execution will determine the next governor because none of the candidates has an overwhelming advantage, and now is when they're in full swing.

OXENDINE'S ANSWER puzzled those in the audience at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce forum. The chamber, after all, was the most strident advocate for transportation funding, and candidates wanting the chamber vote would be expected to promise to work for ratification of the constitutional amendment next year to make it happen. Johnson, Deal and Handel did exactly that.

Handel, for example, counted her three years in local government as an asset she could use in convincing local officials around the state to support the proposal.

"We must bring transportation in a robust way," she said.

Johnson also drew attention to his background. "As the architect and civil engineer in me, I love to build things," he said.

Oxendine, though, would only say he planned to focus on this year's campaign and not dwell on next year's.

"I'll be honest: right now I'm worried about securing the Republican nomination and winning the general election," he said. "I don't know exactly how active I will be in 2012. Will I vote for it? I will vote for it."

The hint he dropped was his intention to interpret the no-tax pledge all the Republican candidates signed as a prohibition against stumping for a sales-tax referendum.

His primary opponents could be on the defensive as a result.

The responses on the question of interbasin transfers showed Handel, as a metro Atlanta candidate, must figure she'll pick up votes in downstream communities like Athens, Augusta, Brunswick, Savannah and Columbus by opposing her geographic base on this one issue. On the other hand, Johnson, Deal and Oxendine risked alienating South Georgia while endearing themselves to vote-rich metro Atlanta.

Some of the moves in the chess match are blocks rather than captures. An example is what Sarah Palin won't be doing during her visit to Georgia for a gospel rally. She won't be endorsing Handel and giving her the same kind of boost that catapulted Nikki Haley in South Carolina to the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

More than one of Handel's opponents made sure that the former vice-presidential nominee received a king-sized dose of research about evidence Handel once joined the gay-rights Log Cabin Republicans and was quoted supporting adoptions by gay couples and domestic-partner benefits. Palin might want to help a fellow woman but not one who appears to be less conservative.

JOHNSON AND DEAL have ganged up recently on Handel over the Log Cabin question and her denials in the face of evidence supplied by former officers in the group. Both men want to knock her out of the runoff, and they sense vulnerability.

At the same time, the campaigns are attempting to pre-empt each other on key issues. Johnson may have introduced legislation in the state Senate to expand private-school tuition vouchers, but Oxendine has talked about vouchers every chance he gets. Deal may have sponsored legislation in the U.S. House to get tough on illegal aliens, but Johnson has fired a volley of news releases with his proposals to root out undocumented immigrants. Even Johnson's TV ad brings up illegal immigrants to generally paint him as the most ardent foe of President Obama, despite Deal's role in Congress sniping at the president's health-reform plan.

Like a NASCAR outing in identical cars, it's only the racers' skill that will determine the outcome. This is the stage in the primary race when the cars start swapping paint, as the NASCAR enthusiasts say. It's also when a spinout could happen on any turn.