Posted on 07/21/2004 2:38:35 PM PDT by Amish
Westmoreland, Glenn headed for runoff in 8th Congressional District
By Don Schanche Jr.
Telegraph Staff Writer
Lynn Westmoreland and Dylan Glenn were headed into a runoff in the 8th Congressional District Republican primary late Tuesday night.
With more than two-thirds of the district's 215 precincts reporting, Westmoreland was just shy of a majority, while Dylan Glenn was in second place, according to results posted on the Secretary of State's Web site. Mike Crotts was a distant third, and Tom Mills trailed the pack.
At 10:30 p.m., both Westmoreland and Glenn declared it a runoff, while Crotts acknowledged that it didn't look like he could catch up.
"It doesn't look that way, but we've seen some strange things in elections," he said.
Westmoreland expressed no doubt.
"We are preparing right now for a runoff. That's all I know that we can do," he said.
Glenn said, "We're excited. The conventional wisdom is, we weren't supposed to be here. I'm excited about the fact that we proved the political pundits wrong and now we're ready to do what it takes to win this race."
Glenn, who is black, is seeking to win in an overwhelmingly white district.
Both Glenn and Westmoreland said they plan to ask Crotts and Mills for their support in the Aug. 10 runoff.
But Crotts said it was too early to think about. Instead, he was thinking about his own future.
"Regardless of what actually turns out, if I'm not fortunate enough to stay in this particular race, I can say this: My political career is not done. What it will be at this point, I don't know (but) I'm not through."
For a while Tuesday, it looked like Westmoreland might win without a runoff. With 62 percent of the district's precincts reporting, Westmoreland was less than one percentage point away from a majority. But that was before numbers had returned from Glenn's home territory of Columbus, and Crotts' stronghold in Rockdale County.
Crotts, 57, is in the insurance and real estate business, and has served in the state Senate since 1992. Glenn, 35, was a White House aide and deputy chief of staff for Gov. Sonny Perdue. He ran unsuccessfully for the 2nd District seat in 1998 and 2000. Mills, 53, teaches social studies in Troup County. Westmoreland, 54, who founded a construction company, has served in the state House since 1992. In 2000, he was elected GOP leader in the House.
Glenn ran on his experience in Washington, while Crotts and Westmoreland cited their experience as state legislators. All the candidates promised to hew to a conservative line.
The 8th District seat came open when Rep. Mac Collins decided to run for U.S. Senate. The district stretches across all or part of 18 counties, from the southern Atlanta suburbs down to northern Bibb county and west to Columbus. Bibb voters gave a plurality to Westmoreland, but Glenn was close behind.
The GOP primary winner will go on to face Democrat Silvia Delamar, 26, a retail chain-store executive from Conyers. But the district, drawn during a highly partisan 2001 legislative session, is expected to favor a Republican.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To contact Don Schanche Jr., call (478) 453-8308 or e-mail schanche1@alltel.net.
Well, I voted for the young Dylan and I'm going to see what I can do to help him in this runoff. More young black conservatives in Congress is a good thing. I was sorry to see that Johnny Issacson beat out Mac Collins, a man I've met and know to be a conservative that would represent me.
I voted for Dylan Glenn too. I'm also going to do what I can to help him in the runoff, starting with a sign in my front yard omorrow morning.
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