Lowell S. "Casey" Cagle will take on another four years as lieutenant governor after wrapping up an overall quiet race.

Cagle pulled in 55 percent of the vote with 82 percent of precincts reporting, or about 300,000 more votes than Democratic opponent Carol Porter, who drew 42 percent. Libertarian Dan Barber saw 3.5 percent, a typical amount for a third party candidate.

"What a great night. This has been a very, very special night," Cagle said with wife Nita and his three sons by his side. "It's great to see such a wonderful turnout and a real sweep across this nation and state. This is our moment to make a difference for our state."

Cagle thanked supporters and family when the race was called around 11:15 p.m. He raked in more than 1.3 million votes compared to Porter's 1 million and Barber's 83,500.

"The private sector creates jobs, and we've got to make sure we continue to do that," he said to a full room at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead, where the state's Republican party, top candidates and supporters watched results Tuesday night. "It's been a very tough campaign, and I've worked hard day and night to make you proud. During the next four years, I'll do the same thing."

The race remained relatively quiet, with Cagle issuing positive messages about career academies and charter schools and Porter focusing on jobs. During the campaign, Porter repeated that she wanted to run against Cagle on the issues, not scandals.

Controversy didn't enter the campaign until the Friday before Election Day, when former gubernatorial candidate Ray Boyd filed an ethics complaint claiming Cagle had an affair with a high-ranking campaign staffer and then paid her to keep it quiet. Porter denied any involvement with Boyd, and Cagle and the staffer called the ethics scandal fake. It didn't appear to harm Cagle on Election Day, as he still ran 13 percentage points ahead of Porter in the polls.

"For an unknown candidate with no money, I am thrilled with what we did," Porter said Tuesday night. "I'm looking forward to doing anything I can to help Casey Cagle, and we both want Georgia to be the best it can possibly be. I think he will do a good job."

In the July 20 primary, Porter pulled in 70 percent of the votes over political newcomer Trisha McCracken of Augusta, a mysterious candidate who refused to talk to news outlets or unveil her platform.

"Tomorrow is going to be a family day. We'll take the day off and then go to the next stage of our lives," Porter said after her election party at Park Tavern on 10th Street in Atlanta, where she was joined by attorney general candidate Ken Hodges and state schools superintendent candidate Ken Martin. "When God closes one door, he'll open another. There's another plan for me."

Cagle, 44, became the state's first GOP lieutenant governor in 2006 and served alongside Gov. Sonny Perdue as the 11th lieutenant governor in the state. The Gainesville native originally planned to run for governor but dropped out of that race in April because of a degenerative spine condition.

Cagle, a former football standout at Johnson High School who suffered a career-ending injury at Georgia Southern College, said he had been experiencing pain in his shoulder for years. He said the pain intensified and spread to his chest and resulted in some paralysis in his left arm. Fearing he might be having heart problems, he sought medical treatment at Emory University Medical Center in Decatur. However, an MRI revealed the neck and spinal injury.

Cagle first tried physical and injection therapy to no avail. He still felt able to run for the lieutenant governor position and breezed to the November election with no Republican opposition in the primary and with more than $800,000 in campaign finances.

Cagle will be sworn in Jan. 4. On Wednesday, he'll call supporters and take a rest at home in Gainesville after months on the road.