Gov. Nathan Deal has backed state Rep. Doug Collins in a close race for a Congressional seat in North Georgia.

Deal has recorded a telephone message supporting Collins ahead of Tuesday's Republican runoff in Georgia's 9th Congressional District. Collins faces former talk show host Martha Zoller in the race.

Collins beat Zoller by less than 1 percent of the vote in last month's primary election. A third-place finisher took 17 percent of the primary ballots, leaving a large number of unaligned Republicans who could easily decide the runoff.

Besides the support of Deal, Collins has endorsements from former Gov. Zell Miller and House Speaker David Ralston. Zoller has been endorsed by Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain.

Tags: Nathan Deal, endorsement, runoff election, Doug Collins, Martha Zoller, 2012 elections, primary runoff