Sonny Perdue is notable for being the first Republican governor of Georgia since which Reconstruction-era election?

Sonny Perdue became the first Republican governor of Georgia since the Reconstruction era by winning the gubernatorial election in 2002. The correct answer identifies Rufus Bullock, who was elected in 1868, as the last Republican governor prior to Perdue's election. Bullock's election occurred during Reconstruction when the Republican Party was dominant in the South, primarily supported by newly freed African American voters and Northern transplants known as "carpetbaggers." After the Reconstruction period ended, the Democratic Party regained control, and it would take over a century for Republicans to reclaim the governorship in Georgia. This historical context highlights Perdue's achievement as a significant moment in Georgia's political landscape, marking the transition back to Republican leadership in a state that had been primarily Democratic for generations after Reconstruction. The other options presented do not correspond to figures who held the governorship in Georgia during the relevant era.