Associated Press
Saturday, July 25, 1998; Page A13

ATLANTA, July 24—The state's top election official ordered a recount today in the Republican gubernatorial primary, unofficially won by multimillionaire Guy Millner by a razor-thin margin.

Secretary of State Lewis Massey, who bowed out of the Democratic runoff for governor Thursday, ordered the recount at the request of GOP runner-up Mike Bowers, once the GOP favorite but who was damaged by his admission of an adulterous affair.

"I know the likelihood is the result will stay the same," said Bowers, Georgia's former attorney general, who is trying to force a runoff with Millner. Bowers won 40 percent of the vote in Tuesday's four-way GOP primary. Unofficial returns showed Millner with 1,200 votes above the 50 percent threshold for avoiding a runoff.

Millner accused Massey of playing politics, saying he made the decision to order a recount in conjunction with Roy Barnes, to whom Massey conceded the Democratic nomination. "While I feel confident that the recount will affirm my victory, this situation still smells of good-old-boy politics," Millner said.

State law requires a recount only when two candidates finish within 1 percent of each other. Massey said he ordered the recount because computer problems in some counties could have altered the count.