ATLANTA — Fierce Republican primaries headed to runoffs Tuesday for two seats in Congress — one for a new north Georgia district in Gov. Nathan Deal's old political turf, the other for an east Georgia seat redrawn to give the GOP an edge against the Deep South's last white House Democrat.
And one of the Republican races, in Democratic Rep. John Barrow's 12th District, may require a recount before there's a runoff. That's because the second- and third-place candidates finished within 570 votes — to close to determine the runner-up who will advance to the Aug. 21 runoff.
State Rep. Lee Anderson, a Grovetown farmer, earned a spot in the runoff after finishing with 34 percent of the vote. But it remained unknown which of two Augusta contenders will challenge him in the runoff.
Construction company owner Rick W. Allen finished 570 votes ahead of attorney Wright McLeod, a retired Navy pilot.
That's less than 1 percent of the unofficial tally, close enough to guarantee McLeod a recount if that margin holds in the official count. It also doesn't include overseas absentees and provisional ballots.
"We knew it was going to be tight, but we didn't know it was going to be this tight," Allen said.
Anderson said it doesn't matter which rival he faces in the runoff. He said his roots as a farmer helped put him over the top in a largely rural district.
"This district is an agricultural district," Anderson said. "We've got the largest business in the state of Georgia,, but we don't have a congressman who's a farmer. This is a great opportunity."
The fourth contender, Dublin attorney Maria Sheffield, conceded defeat late Tuesday.
In north Georgia's new 9th District, state Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville will have a rematch with conservative talk radio host Martha Zoller. Both candidates were neck-and-neck with 41 percent of the vote late Tuesday, according to unofficial returns.
"The powers that be said they were going to crush me, and I did not get crushed," said Zoller, who tried to cast herself as a political outsider next to the more politically experienced Collins.
Collins said he wasn't flustered by the close finish in the three-way race.
"We're where we need to be and three weeks from now we feel very confident," he said.
Georgia had other contested congressional races on the primary ballot as well, but none so hotly contested. The 9th District was the only open seat among Georgia's 14 House districts. And Barrow in the 12th District is widely considered one of the most endangered House Democrats facing re-election in November.
In the north Georgia race, Collins played up his six years of experience as a state lawmaker — including his most recent assignment as a floor leader responsible for shepherding Deal's legislative priorities through the state House. Zoller, who left her talk radio show on WXKT-FM to seek office, touted endorsements by Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain.
A third contender, retired school principal Roger Fitzpatrick of Cleveland, was eliminated after finishing last.
The seat was drawn to lean steeply Republican, giving the GOP primary winner an advantage in the general election against Democrat Jody Cooley, a Gainesville attorney who ran unopposed in the primary.
In the 12th District Republican race in eastern Georgia, the four contenders spent months working just to introduce themselves to voters across its 19 counties.
Anderson, a hay farmer who's served four years in the Legislature, ran on a promise to cut his congressional salary by 20 percent if elected. Sheffield focused on door-to-door campaigning in hopes of rallying tea-party supporters.
McLeod touted his military service as an F-14 fighter pilot and was endorsed by the last Republican to hold Barrow's seat, former Rep. Max Burns. Allen campaigned on his business experience, saying it made him best suited to help fix the economy.
All four 12th District contenders also put up significant sums of their own money for the race. Allen loaned his campaign $290,000. Anderson opened his wallet for $178,000, while McLeod and Sheffield each put up $100,000.
"I'm a businessman, so I voted for the businessman," said Bill Defer, a 54-year-old manufacturing manager, who voted for Allen in Columbia County, west of Augusta. "I think a lot of solutions for our economy right now will be in how we promote business. We need to create jobs."
Brian Levens, a 32-year-old teacher from Columbia County, said he was torn between McLeod and Sheffield but ultimately chose McLeod — in part because the candidate's law office is just down the street from the library where Levens voted in Evans.
"I like the fact that he served 20 years in the military," Levens said. "I appreciate the fact that, even though he's an attorney, he's still a businessman."
Barrow, a four-term Democratic incumbent, has more than $1.3 million in the bank to defend his seat in November. Tuesday marked the first primary since 2006 in which Barrow faced no opposition from within his own party.
Six of Georgia's incumbent congressmen also faced some primary opposition Tuesday. Democratic Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson defeated challengers, as did GOP Reps. Lynn Westmoreland, Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey and Rob Woodall.