Deal has lengthy political résumé

         Top grades. Student body president. Debate champion. Law school. Military record. Nearly three decades in the state Legislature and Congress.

         Deal, 68, faces Democratic opponent and former governor Roy Barnes. Recently, his poltical record has been overshadowed by financial problems, including a need to repay a $2 million debt from a failed store run by his daughter and son-in-law.

         The former lawmaker hails from one of the more conservative districts in the country, and it shows. Last year, he called on President Obama to produce his birth certificate, although he said that he now believes the matter is settled. Deal also pushed for an end to automatic citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants born in this country, and he has advocated eliminating the federal income tax in favor of a consumption tax, or so-called fair tax.

         Deal and his wife face a Feb. 1 deadline to repay $2.3 million in loans that they guaranteed for their daughter and son-in-law's failed store. Deal has tried to sell his Gainesville home along with other property and recently said he will liquidate a retirement account to help repay his debts.

         He also amended his financial disclosure forms after facing questions about why he did not disclose $2.85 million in business loans. Deal called the omission an oversight.

         He tries to strike an everyman tone when talking about money woes.

         "I am real. I'm like other Georgians. I face these same challenges. Like other Georgians, we're going to be responsible," Deal said.

         Elected to the U.S. House as a Democrat in 1992, Deal has a long record on Capitol Hill. In 2005, he helped slash some $20 billion from the federal budget as part of the deficit reduction act. It's a figure, aides note, larger than the current budget of Georgia.

         Deal's decision to become a Republican in 1995 helped Republicans expand their power in Congress. It earned Deal the loyalty of then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who has endorsed Deal in the governor's race as "a solid conservative with a solid record."

         Tough proposals to crack down on illegal immigration have been the centerpiece of his tenure. He has backed using soldiers at the border to enforce drug and immigration laws. He also supported a federal database meant to keep illegal immigrants out of the work force, and he supports an Arizona-style law in Georgia against illegal immigration.

         Earlier this year, the Office of Congressional Ethics found that Deal might have violated House ethics rules by using his position to lobby state officials on behalf of his Gainesville auto salvage company, which at the time had a lucrative state contract.