The two candidates for governor with Middle Georgia ties trailed by a large margin in the Democratic primary Tuesday, placing third and fourth among the crowded field of seven.
Macon native David Poythress and DuBose Porter of Dublin and trailed a distant third and fourth in the Democratic primary that former Gov. Roy Barnes won handily Tuesday night.
With 81 percent of precincts reporting, Barnes had 65.8 percent of the vote, followed by Thurbert Baker with 21.7 percent, Poythress with 5.5 percent and Porter with 4.2 percent.
But both candidates credited their campaigns with guiding public discourse and potentially changing future policy.
This was the second gubernatorial bid for Poythress, a three-star general who also ran unsuccessfully in 1998. He has served the state as an assistant attorney general, deputy revenue commissioner, secretary of state and commissioner of labor.
“We were disappointed with the outcome, of course, but we think we ran a good campaign,” Poythress said Tuesday night. “We knew at the outset we’d be outspent considerably, so we had to focus almost entirely on our ground game,” pounding the pavement and distributing leaflets.
But Poythress said he feels he articulated solutions to the issues in the race, some of which were adopted by others.
Poythress’ platform included state tax credits to encourage conservation and green jobs, support for an Atlanta-to-Macon passenger rail line, improved freight rail to the port of Savannah and elimination of loopholes in state income and sales tax laws.
“The truth is, by the time we got to today, most of the Democratic candidates had similar solutions,” Poythress said. “I think I differed mostly on education policy” by proposing fundamental changes to curriculum delivery using high-tech approaches.
The 66-year-old Poythress said he may now return to previous careers in law or teaching.
Poythress and Porter both congratulated Barnes and said they’ll support his campaign in the general election.
As early results began to trickle in from around the state, Porter thanked about three dozen supporters gathered at his campaign headquarters in downtown Dublin.
“What a race we’ve had,” said Porter, an attorney and newspaper editor. “The people we’ve touched, the ideas we’ve made relevant in this race because of your help. Third-grade reading scores have become relevant in this race. Isn’t it interesting everybody wants to burn wood chips for energy now?”
Later in Atlanta, Porter noted that even if he didn’t win, his campaign pushed other candidates to join him in supporting these ideas as well as Atlanta-to-Macon passenger rail and joint enrollment for high school students in community and technical colleges.
“And that was worth all that we have done,” he said, thanking Middle Georgians for their support.
Even as his own campaign ended, Porter’s wife, Carol, celebrated her success in the primary race for lieutenant governor. The couple had similar platforms focused on the economy, education, transportation and water. Porter said he will be his wife’s chief supporter.
In his bid for the governor’s office, DuBose Porter gave up the chance to continue representing parts of Laurens and Johnson counties in the 143rd state House District. He had held that seat since 1982, and his recent stint as House minority leader made him one of the top-ranking Democrats in the state.
To contact writer S. Heather Duncan, call 744-4225.
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