ATLANTA — Former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal was a stalwart in state politics for decades. Since leaving the governor’s mansion, he's been mostly out of the spotlight.
Now he’s back with a new children's book, penned in honor of Georgia's former first lady, Sandra Deal.
The book chronicles the fictional adventures of the Deal's two real-life cats, Veto and Bill, as a series of supporting characters teach them life lessons.
"Each of the characters have a message that they're trying to teach Veto," said Deal in an interview with 11Alive's Sunday politics show, The Georgia Vote. "To be nice. To be kind. To be patient. To be able to get along with others that don't look like you and don't do the same things that you do."
The book is a testament to Deal's wife, Sandra, who made childhood literacy a cornerstone of her time as Georgia's first lady.
"She said, 'I need you to write me a children's book,' and I promised her I would, but I never got around to it," said the former governor. "Then she got the diagnosis of brain cancer, and I realized I needed to get busy. So I did, I wrote it in its original form, read it to her. She liked it. She gave me the thumbs up. So she was the inspiration."
After battling that cancer, Sandra Deal died in 2022.
Nathan Deal sees the book as a connection to her legacy.
"I think she would like it," he said. "I hope she would."
During a wide-ranging interview, Deal also reflected on his views of the current national political climate after leaving the Georgia governor's mansion in 2019.
Deal said things have "changed dramatically" since then -- and "not necessarily" for the better.
"I don't like the controversy and the name-calling and the things that don't deal with issues that really should matter to people," he said.
He's part of a bipartisan coalition of Georgia politicians focused on enhancing confidence in the election system.
Deal says the group consists of former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, former Democratic Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin, former Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, and himself.
"Our main focus is to try to make sure that the confidence in our election process is maintained," said Deal. "That's something that sometimes a lot of the chatter is designed to unsettle the public, to give them no confidence in the electoral process. And if we don't maintain confidence in our election system, apathy sets in, excuses for not voting prevail, and that's very, very detrimental to any form of government, especially a democracy."
When asked who he'd be supporting in the November presidential election, Deal declined to answer.
"I'm a Republican, and I think I'll leave it at that," he said.
Deal didn't reveal who he plans to support in Georgia's upcoming 2026 gubernatorial contest either but expressed optimism about the potential field.
When asked his views on Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, state Attorney General Chris Carr, and Jason Carter (who ran unsuccessfully for governor against Deal in 2014) -- all names rumored to be considering mounting a 2026 campaign -- Deal called them all his "friends."
"Those are good contestants there, and they know what they're talking about when they talk about things, and hopefully, they will stick to the issues," said Deal. "I am encouraged."