By John Fredericks / Staff

With Republicans finding au courant vigor on the national level, and new GOP leadership under the Gold Dome, it is shaping up to be a perfect storm.

The GOP is looking to retain its majority in both the Georgia House and Senate  this fall, as well as keep one of their own in the Governor’s Mansion come January 2011.

So the top candidates vying for the nomination in the July 20 primary are invading North Fulton to debate.

A school of Georgia political thought says that any statewide Republican primary victory these days has to run through North Fulton County.

While that hypothesis may be debatable, no one can dismiss the powerful bloc of GOP voters that dominate the savvy Northside enclave.

Highly educated, primarily conservative, very engaged and politically motivated, most North Fulton residents have one basic thing in common: They vote.

Candidates who can carry North Fulton big get a huge push statewide — or regionally — to propel them to victory. Ask Karen Handel, who used her North Fulton power base to pull an upset victory over several rival primary candidates in her smashing Secretary of State victory four years ago. Or ask Sixth District Republican Congressman Tom Price. He crushed his runoff opponent, the Cobb County favorite, on the strength of a huge North Fulton turnout, to win his D.C. seat in 2004.

Now the top five Republican candidates for governor are coming to North Fulton County to participate in the first debate that brings them all together on the same stage at the same time. The stakes are high and the drama is unforeseen. The debate, sponsored by The Beacon, is on Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at the Metropolitan Club off Windward Parkway in Alpharetta. It's open to the public but seats are limited, so to reserve your ticket go to www.beaconcast.com.

The debate format is designed to allow the top tier candidates to engage in substantive policy discussion. There are seven announced candidates, but The Beacon editorial staff chose not to invite Ray McBerry and State Sen. Jeff Chapman. Why? We used a formula common in statewide debates. The invited candidates had to have raised at least $250,000 since the inception of their campaigns. While money isn’t everything, we wanted to limit the candidates participating at this juncture to those who are viable, so as to increase the level of discourse between those we invited. It’s a purely editorial decision on our part.

The moderators, which include Beacon veteran political correspondent Liz Flowers and me, will ask questions of the candidates. The interesting aspect is that the questions we choose will have come from the candidates themselves. Each campaign is submitting two questions for their opponents prior to the debate, and our editorial team will choose our questions from those. Naturally, we expect the questions to be hard-hitting and precise.

After customary opening statements, the candidate receiving the question will have sufficient time to answer, and the four opponents will respond to the same question — someone’s response. The candidate who got the question then gets the final word, and so forth.

Many media outlets throughout metro Atlanta will cover the debate. For those who can't attend, the debate will be broadcast live on beaconcast.com commencing at 7 p.m.

Here is a profile of each of the five candidates who will be participating in the debate.

NATHAN DEAL

In Congress, Deal fought to cut government spending through e armark reform and cost-saving Medicaid reforms. And he's worked to strengthen our immigration policy by authoring legislation to end automatic birthright citizenship and by successfully fighting to require proof of citizenship before receiving state or federal health care benefits.

Every weekend, Deal has returned from Washington to listen to the concerns of those he serves. On Sundays, he and his wife, Sandra, attend First Baptist Church of Gainesville, where Deal has been both a deacon and a Sunday school teacher.

Leadership 

For more than 30 years, Deal has represented our nation and our state as a U.S. Army Captain, a judge, a prosecutor, a state legislator, and as a conservative member of Congress. He is a proven leader with the respect of the people of Georgia and his colleagues in Washington. Deal has the proven experience and judgment to make critical decisions under tough circumstances. And at a time when the economy has slowed to a halt, our schools are struggling, and many Georgians are out of work, Deal remains the most qualified, proven leader to guide our state to a better, brighter tomorrow.

Conservative

The American Conservative Union named Deal "A Defender of Liberty," its highest legislative honor. He has a lifetime "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. He consistently earns the highest marks from immigration reform groups. These groups have all learned what Georgians have known for a long time: Deal is as conservative as they come. He champions tax cuts and limited government and he advocates free-market solutions, not government takeovers or bailouts. He's a passionate, consistent defender of innocent, unborn life. Deal  fights for the values he learned from his parents, his community, and his church. As our next governor, he would promote those same values and leadership. And he’d make us proud.

Vision

Great leaders are known for their discernment and vision. They don’t just see the challenges before them — they see the solutions. Deal sees a better Georgia where taxes remain low, where our children have access to a world-class education, where we spend within our means, and where we control our water rights.

As our next governor, Deal would use his respected, conservative leadership as he pursues his vision for a strong, vibrant Georgia that works for each of us.

KAREN HANDEL

Handel brings a unique blend of executive, political and business seasoning to public service in Georgia. Her breadth of in-depth experience spans multiple spectrums of both private industry and government. She is the only candidate for governor who has served at the local, state and federal levels.

Handel has worked in the private sector for Hallmark Cards, and as an executive with CIBA Vision, KPMG, and the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.

She applied her entrepreneurial knowledge and spirit to the public sector, where she served as deputy chief of staff to Marilyn Quayle in the Bush-Quayle administration. She also served as deputy chief of staff to Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Others talk about jobs; she creates them

As CEO of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, Handel took a near-bankrupt organization and turned it into one of the strongest in the state, adding many new jobs for Georgians along the way.

Handel the fighter

In elective office, she has served as chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. When she began her term, she faced a $100 million deficit, and a proposed tax increase. She said "No" and made the strategic cuts and balanced the budget without raising taxes. She also passed the most stringent ethics policy of any county government in our state.

As Georgia's first Republican Secretary of State, Handel cut her budget by 20 percent. She led the fight for requiring a photo ID at the polls, and for proof of citizenship to vote.

As a Republican candidate for governor, Handel is the only one in the race to offer real initiatives to create jobs in Georgia. She also has put forward a comprehensive ethics plan that will hold elected officials accountable and restore trust to our state government.

Handel is not a career politician. She has a rare blend of experience that sets her apart from the others in the race for governor, and is exceptionally qualified to lead our state.

Handel and her husband, Steve, reside in Roswell.

ERIC JOHNSON

An architect from Savannah, Johnson has helped put Georgia on a solid foundation. As Senate Minority Leader he led Republicans to the majority for the first time in more than 130 years. Respected by colleagues, Johnson was then elected Senate President Pro Tempore. In that role he helped pass groundbreaking legislation that grew the state's economy, cut taxes, and defended Georgia values.

Fighting for you

After serving in the State House for two years, Johnson successfully ran for the State Senate in 1994 and was elected Senate Minority Leader after two terms. He spent the next four years battling with the Barnes Administration and presenting Republican alternatives to the administration’s top-down, heavy-handed style. In 2002, his dedication paid off as he helped topple the Barnes political machine and elect the first Republican governor and Republican majority in the State Senate since Reconstruction.

Experience you can trust

Major legislative accomplishments and an expanding Republican majority marked Johnson's tenure as Senate President Pro Tem. He helped cut taxes, protect private property, reduce frivolous lawsuits, punish sexual predators, curb illegal immigration, and require a photo ID to vote. As the Senate President Pro Tem and chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, Johnson was a leader on strengthening Georgia’s ethics laws. When he stepped down from leadership in 2009 to run for statewide office, Georgians had fully entrusted Republicans to govern the state, and unlike Republicans in Washington, he and his colleagues had delivered.

Working to educate our kids

In today's global economy, the skill and knowledge of our workforce will be the determining factor of our economic success. That’s why Johnson has fought to empower families and parents to decide what the best educational environment is for their child, be it strong public schools, charter schools, home schooling, virtual schools or private schooling funded through an educational voucher. He knows that the stakes are too high for us to fail our children.

Putting Georgia back to work

Johnson has the experience we need to turn our state’s economy around and put Georgians back to work. Through an approach based on conservative, free-market principles, he will ensure that Georgia emer ges from this recession faster than the rest of the nation and be stronger than ever before.

Johnson and his wife, Kathryn, have two children: Righton, an attorney in Atlanta, and Marcus, a pastor in Savannah.

JOHN OXENDINE

In 1994, John Oxendine upset a well-funded Democrat incumbent on the strength of a grassroots uprising, while Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich led the Republican Revolution in Washington, gaining its first modern GOP House majority.

Since then, Oxendine has traveled the state working to successfully elect other Republicans, as the leading Republican vote-getter in every statewide election.

Oxendine is the longest-serving Republican statewide Constitutional Officer, and the leading vote-getter in his past two elections.

A conservative leader who puts taxpayers first

Heading the first major state agency under Republican control, Oxendine has pioneered the application of business principles to Georgia state government.

Since becoming the first Republican to control a state agency, he has consistently run the department under budget, returning money to the taxpayers every year he has been in office.

Helping small businesses create jobs

When Oxendine first took office, Georgia’s small business paid some of the highest workers’ compensation insurance rates in the nation, and workers received some of the lowest benefits. Within a year of his taking office, new insurance companies were offering less-expensive options for small business owners, rates plummeted as much as 50 percent and benefits to injured workers increased.

Leading on healthcare

Under Oxendine's leadership, Georgia became the first state in America to crack down on HMOs that refused to pay doctors and hospitals on time.

To date, Oxendine has levied more fines on HMOs than any other Insurance Commissioner in the United States, ensuring that HMOs fulfill their obligations to their policyholders and the medical community.

A lifelong conservative

After carrying a triple major in Christianity, Greek and Political Science at Mercer University, Oxendine attended the Walter F. George School of and earned his law degree in 1987. He and his family live in Gwinnett County.

Oxendine and his wife, Ivy, have four children, J.W., Philip, Caroline, and Jake. The Oxendines are active in their church, Mount Pisgah United Methodist, where he serves as an usher.

AUSTIN SCOTT

Scott has served in the Georgia General Assembly since he was first elected to the House of Representatives at age 26. After graduating from the University of Georgia's business school, he opened an independent insurance brokerage in Tifton, Ga., which he continues to operate. At the age of 32, Scott was recognized by Georgia Trend magazine as one of "Georgia’s Brightest Stars under Age 40." He is a two-time recipient of the American Cancer Society’s Outstanding Legislative Leadership Award (2003, 2004), and the Georgia Association of Emergency Medical Service’s Star of Life Legislative Award (2007, 2008).

Business expertise to create jobs

Scott’s business experience ranges from the cattle farm to the boardroom. He is an outspoken advocate for Georgia businesses and is committed to a pro-growth economic agenda that strengthens local businesses and benefits Georgia’s families. As a businessman, Scott understands that limited government is the most effective form of government. He knows that in many cases it is the government that stands between the needs of the people and the necessary innovative solutions that competitive markets provide. 

Less government, more transparency

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named Scott "Hero of Open Government." Why? Because he understands that accountability for spending taxpayers' money can be achieved only through transparency in government budgets. That's why he is committed to making Georgia’s budget process the most transparent in the nation. 

Ethics that count: serving the people

Scott is committed to avoiding conflicts of interest. He has no business relationship with the state or with any political subdivision in Georgia. As Georgia’s governor, Scott would prohibit financial transactions between the people that he appoints and the boards they serve on. 

Walking the talk

In the summer of 2009, Scott walked through Georgia to get firsthand knowledge of the concerns of real Georgians from every walk of life. He developed his campaign platform by listening to the needs of ordinary Georgians. When he completed his journey through the state, on Aug. 29, he had walked 1,068 miles — the longest walk ever undertaken by an American politician.

Educating our youth

Scott’s 9-year-old son, Wells, is a third-grade student in the Tift County Public School System. His mother and his sister teach in our public schools. Scott has a very personal interest in the success of our education system.

Scott resides in Ashburn with his wife, Vivien, and their son.