Nathan Deal
John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American politician who has been the 82nd Governor of Georgia since January 2011. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1992, but switched to the Republicans in 1995. On March 1, 2010, Deal announced his resignation from Congress to run for governor of Georgia. Deal faced a crowded field of candidates in the July Republican primary but ultimately faced former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel in a tightly contested August 10, 2010, primary runoff election, and won by fewer than 2500 votes. The following day Handel declined to pursue a recount and conceded. On November 2, Democratic opponent Roy Barnes called to concede the race for governor of Georgia, making Deal the governor-elect to succeed term-limited Sonny Perdue in 2011. Deal won his re-election campaign for governor in 2014.