Deal, Handel to Face Off in GOP Runoff for Ga. Gov

ATLANTA -- A former secretary of state will face an ex-congressman in a Republican runoff in the race for Georgia governor.

Unofficial returns show Karen Handel with 33 percent of the vote while Nathan Deal had 24 percent.

Deal had been a congressman from Gainesville and has the backing of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Handel used to be secretary of state and her campaign has been buoyed by the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

On the Democratic side, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes has won the Democratic nomination in his comeback bid for that office.

Barnes avoided a runoff by trouncing six opponents.

Barnes lost a re-election bid for the governor's office in 2002 and jumped back into the fray last year.