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Barr Loses to Fellow GOP Linder
Tue Aug 20,10:21 PM ET
By DICK PETTYS, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - Four-term Republican Rep. Bob Barr ( news, bio, voting record) of Georgia was bounced out of Congress by Rep. John Linder ( news, bio, voting record) on Tuesday after the two veteran conservatives were thrown together for a primary under Democrat-led redistricting.

AP Photo

With 65 percent of precincts reporting, Linder had 38,328 votes, or 70 percent; Barr had 16,144 votes, or 30 percent.

Barr, the fiery maverick who led the House impeachment of President Clinton ( news - web sites), becomes the seventh House incumbent ousted in a primary this year. Linder is expected to win a sixth term this fall.

Another Georgia firebrand, Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney ( news, bio, voting record), was locked in a primary fight against Denise Majette, a Yale-educated former judge.

With 18 percent of precincts reporting, Majette had 14,419 votes, or 80 percent, and McKinney had 3,594 votes, or 20 percent.

Georgia voters also chose GOP nominees for Senate and governor and the top candidates for four open House seats. In Wyoming, five Republicans and four Democrats battled for the nominations to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Jim Geringer.

Rep. Saxby Chambliss ( news, bio, voting record) of Georgia defeated two opponents in the GOP Senate primary and will face freshman Democratic Sen. Max Cleland ( news, bio, voting record), who was unopposed. Chambliss ran with the backing of the White House.

A runoff was expected in the three-way GOP race to challenge first-term Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, a Democrat.

With nearly half the precincts reporting, former state Sen. Sonny Perdue ( news, bio, voting record) had 50 percent of the vote, state schools superintendent Linda Schrenko had 27 percent and former Cobb County commissioner Bill Byrne had 23 percent. If no one gets more than half the vote, the top two finishers will face off Sept. 10.

On a busy primary day, the races involving Barr and McKinney grabbed the most attention. Like Linder, the winner of the McKinney-Majette battle is expected to be elected this fall.

Barr and Linder had offered voters in the 7th District a stark choice in style, if not substance. Both men back tax cuts, gun rights and a ban on abortion, but their approaches could not be more different.

The blunt-spoken Barr, 53, was first elected in the GOP landslide of 1994. He was the first to call for Clinton's impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky affair and polished his maverick imaged by questioning the Bush administration's expanded law enforcement efforts to combat terrorism.

Linder, 59, a former fund-raiser for Newt Gingrich, is a quiet policy wonk who told voters the most effective lawmakers don't show up on talk shows every night — a clear dig at his opponent.

The real fireworks were in the 4th District, where McKinney surprised even fellow Democrats by suggesting the Bush administration had ignored warnings about Sept. 11 and the president's big business allies have benefited from the war on terrorism.

McKinney, a single mother and former college professor first elected to Congress in 1992, also said she would have accepted a Saudi prince's $10 million check for Sept. 11 victims. The check was rejected by New York officials after the prince suggested U.S. policies toward the Mideast were partly to blame for the attacks.

Middle East politics played an unlikely role in the race. McKinney drew campaign financing from out of state, including money from pro-Arab groups, while Jewish groups helped fund Majette's campaign.

The race echoed the Alabama primary this year that cost Democratic Rep. Earl Hilliard ( news, bio, voting record) his job. Hilliard received support from Arab groups after supporting a Palestinian state, while his young opponent had the backing of pro-Israel groups.

The 47-year-old McKinney and the 46-year-old Majette are both black and the incumbent had expected to draw most of the black vote. But Majette attracted support from Republicans, who are allowed to vote in the Democratic race under the state's open primary.

Congressmen already ousted this year include Democrats Hilliard, Gary Condit of California, Frank Mascara of Pennsylvania and Tom Sawyer of Ohio. Rep. Lynn Rivers ( news, bio, voting record), D-Mich., Mascara and GOP Rep. Brian Kerns ( news, bio, voting record) of Indiana all lost to fellow incumbents in primary races forced by redistricting.

In Wyoming, freshman GOP Sen. Mike Enzi easily won his primary and will face Democrat Joyce Corcoran this fall. The state's other high-profile race featured political newcomer Ron Akin battling investment broker John Swett for the Democratic nomination to challenge four-term GOP Rep. Barbara Cubin ( news, bio, voting record).