You don’t want to miss our special primary election night coverage. We’ll be broadcasting live from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. from Comcast Community Studios, on Comcast channel 25 and on the web at beaconcast.com. We’ll have up-to-date election night results as they roll in, plus live hook-ups at all the major campaign headquarters, along with a bevy a special guest analysts who’ll be joining us for commentary throughout the night.

SAM OLENS BUSTED?

There is a recurring theme between many of our GOP candidates for various offices: they are all running from any Democrat or socially liberal background. The latest is state attorney general candidate Sam Olens, the former Cobb County Commissioner. Olens denied any involvement with the Clinton campaign for President in 1992 when asked about it in a recent Atlanta Press Club debate. However, the “devil is in the newspaper”. Rival GOP candidate Preston Smith produced evidence of a February 25, 1992 article from the Marietta Daily Journal entitled: “Clinton garners support from county Democrats” written by Joe Kirby. In this article, it clearly defies Olens denial of being linked to President Clinton - “East Cobb county lawyer Sam Olens, treasurer of the Cobb County Democrat Party” as endorsing and being a member of the Cobb County for Clinton chapter.

Olens is being ravaged by his opponents – Smith and former JOA attorney Max Wood -- for being too closely linked to the Democrat Party. Many of his contributions have come from political activists who recently voted in the Democrat primaries have Olens playing defense.

It was not too long ago when Georgia was a blue state. It’s clear that Olens has a tight past with the Dems. Why can’t he just say so, and come clean?

THE GREAT MARY NORWOOD BALLOT ACCESS FIASCO

Mary Norwood, who has been running for Fulton County Commission Chairman as an Independent candidate since mid-April, needed 22,700 valid Fulton County Registered voters to sign her petitions by the deadline, July 13th at 11 a.m.

The good news for Norwood: she wheeled in over 30,000 signatures right before the deadline.

The bad news for Norwood: she missed an earlier filing deadline two weeks ago, where she had to file papers by July 2 at noon announcing her intention to attempt to qualify as an independent candidate. In a campaign faux pas, she showed up four hours and 40 minutes late.

Roderick Edmond, The Fulton County Election and Registration Chairman of the five member board -- made up of two Republicans and three Democrats -- promptly sent Norwood a letter saying thanks but no thanks, you’re out. Problem is, Edmond was appointed by current Fulton Commission Chairman John Eaves, the Democrat incumbent.

Norwood cried foul, and asked for a hearing from the board. They met on Friday and voted her down, 3-1, with one member absent.

So what’s next for Norwood? She’ll likely take it the Georgia Supreme Court, and win ballot access. Will the Georgia Supreme Court disenfranchise 30,000 registered voters? We doubt it.

2010 GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL HORSE RACE

The new polling data is the real story. They are all over the place.

Here are the results of three different polls, all released this week:

Republican
John Oxendine-   31%, 15%, 20%
Karen Handel-     23%, 24%, 25%
Nathan Deal-       18%, 16%, 25%
Eric Johnson-       6%, 13%, 13%

Democrat
Roy Barnes- 54%
Thurbert Baker- 20%

So what does this mean? That the GOP race is wide open, that’s what. Any two of the top four candidates can make the run-off. The Democrat side is easier, with one question: Can Baker hold Barnes under 50 percent.

Plus, all of these polls were taken before the big three endorsements: Sarah Palin for Karen Handel, Newt Gingrich for Nathan Deal and Bill Clinton for Thurrbert Baker.

HANDEL GOES AT IT WITH OX AND DEAL

Yikes, it’s a getting just a tad bit testy between the Karen Handel Nathan Deal and John Oxendine campaigns. Here’s just a sampling of this week’s intense count-counter points from the respective camps.

HANDEL: “Shockingly, Nathan Deal, sent out an e-mail message this morning that “real” women support him. We have news for Mr. Deal. Sarah Palin is a real woman, and she supports Karen. Governor Jan Brewer is a real woman, and she supports Karen. And the hundreds of thousands of conservative Georgia women who are supporting Karen Handel are real women.

After over $1 million of negative, untrue attacks by Nathan Deal and John Oxendine, the momentum for Karen continues to build. The good old boys are ganging together in an attempt to prevent real reform and ethical leadership that Karen Handel will bring. The days of elected officials living off the taxpayers with their sweetheart deals are coming to an end.”

OXENDINE: “It is not surprising that Karen Handel would continue to do whatever it takes to lie to Georgians about her liberal record. The following documentation is in response to Karen Handel’s attempt to “debunk” our latest TV ad, ‘Real Plan’.

This ad shows the stark contrast between Karen Handel, the most liberal candidate in the Republican primary, and John Oxendine, a true conservative with a comprehensive plan to transform Georgia. Handel can continue to try to cover her tracks and spin her way out of her well documented liberal past but we’ll continue to set the record straight.

Another important thing to note is that Handel balanced the Fulton County budget only by raiding the county’s rainy day fund -- every year.  The next governor isn’t going to have that luxury, and Georgians cannot afford a big spending liberal like Karen Handel as their next governor.”

DEAL: Accused Handel of voting to fund gay outreach to kids. “As Fulton Commission chair, Handel voted to give taxpayer dollars to ‘Youth Pride’ which did outreach to gays and ‘questioning’ kids as young as 13 and funded seminars such as ‘Unsung Heroes of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community’ and this was during a budget crisis,” Deal said in the statement.

BEACON “SPIN DOCTOR OF THE WEEK”

This week’s “Spin Doctor of the Week Award” goes to Fulton County Elections and Registrations Board Member Stan Matarazzo, appointed by the Republicans.  Matarazzo, who voted this week against giving Norwood ballot access, defended his ruling by saying he was concerned about a John Eaves lawsuit, and that it could drag on for months. Matarazzo maintained that the courts should ultimately decide on Norwood’s ballot access fate, not the Board. But if fear of lawsuits is the driving his decision, and he punted his responsibility back to some Judge, why even have a board at all?  Matarazzo called it a prudent decision. We call it the Spin Doctor of the Week.

GOVERNOR RACE PREDICTIONS

I go with the closers, those with the late breaking momentum.

GOP: Deal –Johnson. Both have a geographic base, and if big Atlanta metro vote gets carved up, it’s North Georgia vs. South. Deal and Johnson are surging, Democrat: Baker holds Barnes under 50 percent and forces a run-off.

STATE SENATE D-56

We don’t take too much stock in silly straw polls, but they had one for the local District 56 state senate race at Saturday’s annual Fulton County Republican Party Barbecue. Results: Brandon Beach 57 percent, David Belle Isle 27 percent and John Albers 16 percent.

Here’s our prediction: Beach wins with 49 percent, and Belle Isle comes in second, forcing Beach to a run-off.