No primary shoo-in for Georgia's McKinney

ATLANTA, July 19 (UPI) -- Controversial U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., did not draw enough votes in a state primary for a majority, and will face a run-off next month.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, McKinney was leading relatively unknown challenger, former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson by 47 percent to 44.5 percent of votes counted, The Washington Post reported. Georgia law requires a candidate to reach 50 percent to avoid a primary runoff.

McKinney, the first black woman elected to Congress in Georgia, has run into opposition with her aggressive tactics, such as accusations she struck a Capitol Hill police officer last March when he asked her for ID.

She lost her congressional seat in 2002 after suggesting the Bush administration had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, but she was elected again in 2004.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said before Tuesday's primary vote, McKinney ran a low-key campaign and refused to appear at major debates against her challengers.

The run-off election will be Aug. 8.