Georgia's fiercely contested GOP Senate primary was too close to calls hours after the polls closed Tuesday night as seven Republicans battled for the right to oppose Michelle Nunn, who easily won the Democratic Senate primary, in November.
With votes counted in 29 percent of the precincts, Rep. Jack Kingston was gaining 31 percent of the vote with businessman David Perdue close behind at 29 percent. Former Secretary of State Susan Handel was running third with 18 percent.
Along with Perdue, Kingston and Handel, Reps. Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun also were on the Georgia Republican ballot, and the presence of three incumbent lawmakers in the Senate race assured a large turnover in the state's House delegation come January.
Kingston is a 22-year veteran of Congress, and Perdue is the cousin of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.
If no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote, the top two will compete in a July 22 runoff.
The Senate seat, vacant due to the retirement of Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss, was once held by Nunn's father, Sam Nunn.
If the Tea Party-backed Handel loses the primary, it was not immediately clear if that would be perceived as a setback for the movement given the other candidates' loose connections to the group.
Perdue said Sunday he was trying to bridge the gap between Tea Party conservatives and more mainstream Republicans.
'My message is forget about what your single issue is or what we disagree on,' he said.
Kingston is considered more of a moderate and the Washington establishment candidate.
Last week, Tea Party-backed Ben Sasse won the Nebraska GOP Senate primary, which was seen as comeback for the movement after a series of losses.
In all, Republicans will need to pick up six Senate seats across the country to take over the Senate.
contributed to this report.
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