Powell to face McDonald in Dec. 2 runoff

Democratic Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell is running almost even with Republican Lauren McDonald. This wasn’t unexpected, but Powell’s results are impressive considering all these obstacles he’s had to overcome.

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Powell is running a percentage point ahead of Barack Obama and Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin. He’s at 47.3 percent, just half a point behind McDonald. That lead seems likely to close, because the votes that remain to be counted are likely to lean Democratic.

Powell didn’t just have to fight McDonald — who’s campaign was richly funded by executives and lobbyists from the utilities the PSC is supposed to regulate. He also had to fend off a dogged effort by Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, who tried — despite multiple court rulings — for months to keep him off the ballot.

The state Supreme Court finally ruled (unanimously) on Thursday that Powell should get to stay on the ballot. In the meantime, though, the ballot fight forced Powell’s campaign to spend money on lawyers and made it difficult to raise money.

Now, Powell — a former U.S. Energy Department official — gets to take his reformist message into a four-week campaign to win the Dec. 2 runoff.