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Questions Hover Over Reed Campaign in Ga.
After returning to the Atlanta suburbs, Reed served as chairman of the state GOP during the 2002 elections, when the party pulled off upset victories to elect the state's first Republican governor since 1872 and gained control of the state Senate.
Cagle, whose banking and real estate companies have made him a millionaire, has the support of former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes and state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who pulled out of the race for lieutenant governor shortly after Reed entered. Perdue, Georgia's governor, has remained neutral.
  Ralph Reed, candidate for Georgia Lt. Governor, reacts during an interview at a Right To Life rally at the Capitol in Atlanta, Monday, Jan. 23, 2006. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, file) (Ric Feld - AP) 
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The field of Democrats in the race likely face a tough challenge regardless of who wins, because of Georgia's recent Republican tilt. But that hasn't stopped Bobby Kahn, chairman of Georgia's Democratic Party, from attacking Reed's work with a "superlobbyist" and Cagle's pro-banking voting record.
The Democratic candidates include former state Sen. Greg Hecht, state Sen. Steen Miles and former state Department of Human Resources Commissioner Jim Martin.
Reed's campaign platform focuses on returning state surpluses to taxpayers, combining boot camps with classrooms to reform troubled students, and instilling more fiscal discipline by requiring lawmakers to write a new state budget every two years instead of annually. He also supports eliminating income taxes for seniors and restricting annual property-tax assessment increases.
Cagle promises to hand school districts more local control, offer grants to encourage more parental involvement and choice between schools, and play a larger role in jobs creation. If elected, he hopes to grant the lieutenant governor a permanent seat on the state's economic development board and create a "jobs czar" within his office to encourage job-enticing legislation.
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On the Net:
Ralph Reed: http:/
Casey Cagle: http:/