Underdog Ahead In Race To Replace Ga. Rep.

The race to replace the late Rep. Charlie Norwood appeared headed for a recount — with a doctor poised for a stunning upset if he maintains his razor-thin lead over a former Georgia state lawmaker.

Underdog Paul Broun led Jim Whitehead by just 394 votes. With 46,634 votes counted, that is within the 1 percent margin needed for the apparent loser to be granted a recount upon request. Ninety-nine percent of precincts had reported.

Still outstanding are military, overseas and provisional ballots. It was not immediately clear how many of those ballots had been distributed.

Broun and Whitehead, both Republicans, were the top vote-getters to emerge from the crowded 10-candidate field in the June 19 special election to replace Norwood, a tough-talking conservative who died in February after battling cancer and lung disease.

Whitehead, the clear frontrunner, drew 44 percent of the vote in the June 19 special election. That was more than double the 21 percent Broun drew. He outspent Broun by a more than 2-to-1 ratio and lined up support from most local Republican party leaders as well as Norwood's wife, Gloria.

Whitehead argued that his experience in the state Legislature would allow him to hit the ground running in Washington. A native of Norwood's hometown of Augusta, Whitehead has led in fund-raising throughout the campaign and was the choice of many in the state Republican establishment.

Broun cast himself as an outsider who would serve regular citizens rather than political bosses and special interests. Broun has run for office before without success. But he enjoyed high name recognition in the Athens area, where his father was a longtime Democratic state senator.

On Tuesday night, Broun credited his strong showing to an alliance of Christian conservatives, "disenfranchised Republicans" and Democrats. "I got a lot of help out of the African-American community," he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The largely rural 10th congressional district has voted Republican for the past decade, and the candidates battled throughout the race to outflank each other on the right.