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Five-term congressman John Barrow of Augusta has been a perennial target of Georgia Republicans ever since he first won the 12th Congressional District seat in 2004.
Republicans have twice redrawn his East Georgia district to make it more GOP friendly, forcing Barrow to move from Athens to Savannah and then to Augusta so that he could continue residing within the district’s boundaries.
In Tuesday’s election, they finally got him. Republican contractor Rick Allen of Augusta piled up nearly 55 percent of the vote to defeat Barrow, a moderate Democrat who voted against the passage of Obamacare in 2010 and had the endorsements of the NRA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“For 10 years, the people of Georgia’s 12th District have given me the honor of my life to serve them,” Barrow said in a statement released after he conceded the race to Allen.
“Every day, I tried to do what I thought they would want me to do. Today, they’ve chose new representation, and I respect that,” he said.
Barrow’s defeat means that Georgia’s U.S. House delegation will be made up of 10 Republicans and four Democrats.
The 12th District contest was the only competitive congressional election in Georgia.
In the other 13 races, the leading candidate either was unopposed or had only token opposition from the other party.
In addition to Allen, there will be three other new Republican members of the House delegation: state Sen. Buddy Carter in the 1st District, talk show host Jody Hice in the 10th District, and former legislator Barry Loudermilk in the 11th District.
© 2014 by The Georgia Report
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