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Gainesville Democrat Jason Carter and his famous grandfather made incursions into Republican Gov. Nathan Deals backyard on Tuesday.

Deal, meanwhile, trekked deep into Democratic territory to mine for votes with a message that the economy is on the rebound.

Former President Jimmy Carter campaigned for his grandson in Sandersville, the middle Georgia town where Deal grew up. After mentioning that he won Washington County when he ran for governor and president, the elder Carter said Georgia under Republican leadership is failing to realize its full potential.

We are going downhill instead of uphill, he told a crowd at a Sandersville restaurant. Why in the world does Georgia have the highest unemployment rate in the whole nation?

At about the same time, Jason Carter greeted voters as he strolled through downtown Gainesville, Deals hometown and an area he represented in Congress.

Two votes in Gainesville are worth the same as two votes in Atlanta, Jason Carter said. When Im the governor, I want people to know that I am going to be the governor for everyone, whether they voted for me or not. We are getting ready to win, and it is going to be important for us to bring the state together.

Deal stumped across the state in Blakely, a town of about 5,000 in a southwest Georgia county that narrowly went to President Barack Obama in 2012. It seemed an interesting choice for a Deal campaign event sandwiched between stops in Columbus and Albany.

But Deal got one of his most boisterous welcomes when his caravan rolled into town Tuesday afternoon. Local powerbrokers, folks dressed in karate uniforms and kids decked out in white Deal T-shirts waited more than an hour to greet the governor and his caravan of GOP elite.

A few Jason Carter supporters showed up across the street to quietly wave signs for the Democrat.

Deal told the crowd of about 100 that Georgia is at the tip of the spear in bringing new jobs. And he accused Carter of using Washington math in the fight over school funding. The Democrat vows to significantly boost education funding, but Deal claims Carter would inevitably raise taxes a notion Carter rejects.

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Deal, Carter venture into each others territory