Chambliss sworn in for second term

U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss took his oath of office today for his second term as U.S. Senator for Georgia. The 111th Congress convened today in Washington, D.C. The Republican from Moultrie said in a statement, “I will continue to work each day to represent the views and values of Georgians in the United States Senate."

Dire economy led Georgia news in '08

The vast economic crisis has left scores of Georgia's houses empty, its banks shuttered and sent thousands of its residents searching for jobs even as its unemployment rate balloons to heights not seen since Ronald Reagan was president.

The nationwide recession was the top Georgia news story of 2008, according to state editors and news directors voting in The Associated Press' annual survey.

Other stories high on most lists included an energy crisis that sent gas prices on a roller-coaster ride, the U.S. Senate runoff that thwarted Democratic plans for a super-majority in the Senate and the months-long trial of courthouse gunman Brian Nichols.

Yet the economic doldrums was the top choice for seven of 12 Georgia AP members participating in the news cooperative's survey.

Georgia residents began feeling the economic fallout early this year as a growing number of homes remained unsold and credit grew tighter. Firms fired workers, governments furloughed staffers, foreclosures spiked and the state unemployment rate soared to 7.5 percent - the highest in 25 years.

The bleak economy forced regulators to close down five state banks, and led Gov. Sonny Perdue to order spending cuts of at least 6 percent to narrow a deficit that could top $2 billion in 2009.

The new year is unlikely to bring much relief. State economists warn unemployment will climb higher and housing prices will continue to plummet through the first half of 2009.

Volatile energy prices were the No. 2 story of the year. The topsy-turvy fuel market sent the price of crude soaring to as high as $150 a barrel in July before crashing to $33 this month.

The jump in prices, which soared after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike shuttered Gulf Coast refineries, sparked panic among Georgia drivers. Gas stations advertised fuel at $8 a gallon, while some drivers camped out at gas stations to be first in line for new deliveries.

Georgia's seemingly endless U.S. Senate campaign notched the No. 3 spot.

Residents headed to the polls four times to vote on the Senate contest, beginning with the July primaries and ending with a Dec. 2 runoff when Saxby Chambliss was elected to a second Senate term. The Republican's victory over Jim Martin deprived Democrats of a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority.

The conviction and sentencing of Brian Nichols for a deadly shooting spree that began in the Fulton County Courthouse was the year's No. 4 story.

After more than three years and a tangled trail of legal delays, a jury found Nichols guilty of murder. But it deadlocked over whether he deserves the death penalty, forcing a judge to sentence him to life in prison without parole. Now some legislators are intent on changing the state's death penalty rules.

The stubborn drought still squeezing parts of the state emerged as the No. 5 story of the year. While a soggy December helped elevate most of the region from the epic conditions, much of north Georgia - including devastated Lake Lanier - remains in a "severe" drought.

The No. 6 story was the deadly explosion at the Imperial Sugar refinery in February near Savannah that killed 14 workers and injured dozens more. Investigators determined the blast was caused by sugar dust that ignited like gunpowder in the plant's storage silos.

The presidential election, which dominated national headlines, was voted the No. 7 story in Georgia. Democrat Barack Obama's campaign recruited thousands of volunteers focused on turning the state blue, but Republican John McCain managed to claim Georgia's 15 electoral votes.

The No. 8 story of the year broke just hours after New Year's Day.

Meredith Emerson was abducted while walking with her dog that day in the north Georgia mountains, and police later found her body. Authorities soon arrested Gary Michael Hilton, who is now serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to her murder.

The Delta Air Lines merger with Northwest Airlines took the No. 9 slot, as the combination made the Atlanta-based carrier the world's largest airline. It completed a remarkable turnaround for Delta, which had filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

Clayton County's education woes was the year's tenth-ranked story. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools revoked the county's accreditation after it failed to meet a range of recommendations. More than 3,200 students have since bolted.

Stories close to making the list included convicted murderer Troy Davis' efforts to get a new trial and avoid execution, a legislative session that again ended in gridlock and an explosion at a Dalton law firm that killed the person responsible and injured four others.

(AP)

Runoff election roundup

U.S. Senate -
Republican Saxby Chambliss re-elected to his Senate seat, defeating
Democratic challenger Jim Martin.

Chambliss 57.4% (1,220,854)
Martin 42.6% (905,637)


Public Service Commission-District 4 --
Republican Lauren McDonald defeats Democrat Jim Powell

McDonald 56.5% (1,129,696)
Powell 43.5% (870,195)


Court of Appeals--
Sara Doyle defeats Mike Sheffield

Doyle 51.8% (883,702)
Sheffield 48.2% (823,462)

Chambliss wins runoff race

Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss handed the GOP a firewall against Democrats eager to flex their newfound political muscle in Washington, winning a bruising runoff battle Tuesday night that had captured the national limelight.

Chambliss' victory thwarted Democrats' hopes of winning a 60 seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. It came after a bitter monthlong runoff against Democrat Jim Martin that drew political luminaries from both parties to the state and flooded the airwaves with fresh attack ads weeks after campaigns elsewhere had ended.

Minnesota - where a recount is under way - now remains the only unresolved Senate contest in the country. But the stakes there are significantly lower now that Georgia has put a 60-seat Democratic supermajority out of reach.

With 92 percent of the precincts reporting, Chambliss captured 58 percent to Martin's 42 percent. Chambliss' win is a rare bright spot for Republicans in a year where they lost the White House as well as seats in the House and the Senate.

Chambliss portrayed his win as an encouraging sign for Republicans looking to regroup as they head into the next election cycle.

"I'm excited to be the first race that leads us into the 2010 campaign because it'll be a tough fight," Chambliss said at a victory party in Cobb County.

Martin called Chambliss to concede before 10 p.m., then emerged to tell supporters as his voice cracked: "For me and my family and campaign team and all of you this is a sad moment."

Chambliss' mantra on the runoff campaign trail was simple: His re-election was critical to prevent Democrats in Washington from having a blank check. Chambliss, 65, had angered some conservatives with his vote for the $700 billion bailout of the financial services industry and his early support in 2007 for the guest worker provision in President Bush's immigration bill. But fearful of unchecked Democratic dominance, some came back into the GOP fold Tuesday

Martin made the economy the centerpiece of his bid, casting himself as a champion for the neglected middle class. He also linked himself at every opportunity to Barack Obama and his message of change. The Democratic president elect was a no show on the campaign trail in Georgia but did record a radio ad and automated phone calls for Martin.

In the end, Martin, a 63-year-old former state lawmaker from Atlanta, wasn't able to get Obama voters back to the polls in large enough numbers to overcome the Republican advantage in Georgia, which has become an increasingly a reliable red state since 2002.

Turnout was light throughout the state Tuesday. A spokesman for Secretary of State Karen Handel predicted between 18 and 20 percent of the state's 5.75 million registered voters would cast ballots - far less than the 65 percent who voted in last month's general election.

The runoff between the former University of Georgia fraternity brothers was necessary after a three-way general election prevented any of the candidates from getting the necessary 50 percent.

(AP)

Palin packs the house for Chambliss

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin stumping for incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss in his runoff race against opponent Democrat Jim Martin at a rally in Perry, Georgia, Dec., 1, 2008.

Palin spent the day campaigning for Chambliss at rally's in Augusta, Savannah, Perry and Atlanta. While in Perry, Palin told the crowd of 3-thousand that the eyes of the nation were watching Georgia.



(All photos: Josephine Bennett)

Palin got personal when she thanked the crowd for her son's good experience he had while training for the military at Fort Benning in Columbus. The loudest applause came when Palin declared, "Saxby, you betcha!"




(Josephine Bennett)

After addressing the crowd Palin joined Chambliss shaking hands and posing for pictures with several in the crowd.



(Josephine Bennett)

Chambliss faces Democratic challenger, Jim Martin in the December 2, runoff election.


Click here for more GPB News election coverage.

Martin slams Chambliss over veterans benefits

Martin shaking hands with supporters at Democratic Party headquarters in Columbus, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008. (Dave Bender)

The Senate candidates used the weekend to emphasize their messages and try to get out the vote for Tuesday’s runoff.

Democrat Jim Martin spent time in Macon and Savannah on Saturday, and met with about 50 people on Sunday in Columbus.

Martin tailored his Columbus appearance on what he said were Chambliss’ failings to improve benefits for veterans and military personnel:

“It troubles me that he voted 23 times not to increase health care benefits for veterans. “Well, we’re trying to balance our budget,” well, if you’re going to balance your budget, don’t give 700 billion dollars to Wall Street and refuse to give money to the veterans – don’t do it.”

Columbus has a large veteran population, due to the Army’s nearby Fort Benning infantry post.

On the Republican side, Saxby Chambliss attended the Georgia - Georgia Tech game on Saturday, and on Fox News Sunday that the race would not be a referendum on President-Elect Barack Obama.

Georgia is one of only two Senate races still to be decided in this election cycle. Results of the Minnesota race are still in dispute.

Click here for more GPB News election coverage.

Chambliss vying for voters as runoff deadline nears

Chambliss speaking with reporters at a recent press conference at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (Dave Bender/file)

Republican Saxby Chambliss likes to say he never expected to be at the "epicenter of the political world," but that's exactly where he finds himself as he battles for his political survival in the last big election of 2008.

Standing between Democrats and their long-sought 60-seat supermajority in the Senate, Mr. Chambliss heads into Tuesday's runoff against Democrat Jim Martin carrying the weight of the GOP establishment on his shoulders.

"Let's face it, the world is watching Georgia," the 65-year-old freshman senator said Wednesday at a rally in north Georgia. "We have the opportunity to make sure (President-elect) Obama doesn't move us far, far to the left."

His political career began when he won a seat in the U.S. House in 1994. In 2001, he launched what many thought was a hopeless bid to oust Democratic Sen. Max Cleland, a triple amputee wounded in the Vietnam War. A bad knee kept Mr. Chambliss out of the Vietnam conflict.

Mr. Chambliss -- a virtual unknown statewide -- ran a tough campaign against Mr. Cleland, unleashing a TV ad that questioned the veteran's commitment to national security and flashed a photo of Osama bin Laden.

The ad infuriated Democrats, but Mr. Chambliss won the 2002 contest with 53 percent of the votes, helped along by shifting political winds in Georgia. After generations of Democratic control, the state began its swing Republican that year.

In the Senate, Mr. Chambliss emerged as a strong opponent of abortion and supporter of gun rights. He is also known as a reliably pro-business vote and was largely in lockstep with the Bush administration.

As a freshman senator, he rose quickly to become the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. He has been the ranking Republican on the panel since the Democrats won control of the Senate in 2006.

Mr. Chambliss also was handed the reins of the influential Republican Majority Fund, a political action committee that raises money for GOP candidates. Fundraising trips for the PAC have allowed him to indulge his love for golf. In Golf Digest's April ranking of Washington's top 200 golfers, he tied for No. 41.

Still, Mr. Chambliss has not always endeared himself to conservatives. He drew boos at a 2007 gathering of Georgia Republicans for supporting a compromise immigration package, which critics likened to amnesty. He later withdrew his support for the plan.

His work championing a bipartisan energy measure was lambasted by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh and other conservative commentators.

This year, he co-authored the five-year, $300 billion Farm Bill derided by some for being loaded with giveaways and rich subsidies for wealthy farmers.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will join Chambliss on Monday at several rallies across the state.

Click here for more GPB News election coverage.

(AP)

Martin in 11th-hour, cross-state voter race

Martin, speaking with reporters at a recent press conference at his campaign headquarters in Atlanta. (Dave Bender/file)

Democratic Senate challenger Jim Martin made an appearance in Macon and Savannah Saturday in his hotly fought Senate bid against incumbent Saxby Chambliss.

Martin, speaking in front of a now-closed tobacco plant in east Bibb County, told reporters:

“Economic prosperity is based on capital investment. We’ve had a financial situation where the financial sector has been virtually unregulated and it’s resulted in a disaster for American industry,” he said.

“We need to make sure that whatever stimulus package is passed will focus on creating jobs for Americans and stimulating the economy.”

The press conference was Martin's second of the day: he'd appeared at a veterans rally in Savannah that morning, Macon.com reports.

Martin's 72-hour rally continues Sunday afternoon in Columbus.

The candidate and House Chief Deputy Whip G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina will host a veterans and military benefits roundtable at the Muscogee County Democratic Office. The two will hold a rally for supporters later in the evening, according to a statement released by Martin's office.


Chambliss speaking with reporters at a recent press conference at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (Dave Bender/file)

Rival Chambliss will be joined by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on Monday at several rally around the state.

Both candidates have buffed the closing days of their campaigns with national political heavyweights in an effort to swing more voters, and convince the party faithful to actually get to the polls and vote on Tuesday.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the runoff race.

Voters flock to polls in Muscogee Co.

Muscogee Co. residents waiting to vote at the Columbus Public Library, September, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Columbus and Muscogee County voting officials report a high turnout in absentee ballots and early voting for Tuesday’s Senate runoff. Dave Bender reports.

Nancy Boren, director of Elections and Registration says the over 9,000 ballots her Columbus office has received since Monday is, in her words, “exceptional:”

"I think the biggest portion of it is you have all of the automatic ballots that we have to mail out anyway: all of the military, the elderly, and those that are disabled. The other reason is the mailer that was sent by the governor that enabled people to fill out the application for the absent ballot and receive it in their home with the holiday approaching – it just makes it an easy way to vote.”

Boren said 48 polling stations will be open from 7 am to 7 pm in Muscogee County for Tuesday’s race between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin.

Both parties have brought a bevy of national political heavyweights to Georgia to stump in the closely held race.

Voter turnout in runoff races is usually poor, but Boren says she expects to see higher than usual numbers this time.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the runoff race.

Giuliani's turn to stump for Chambliss

Giuliani and Chambliss. (Carl Zornes)

Incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss today welcomed the support of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani is just the latest in a series of national political figures coming to Georgia to support their party this run-off season.

Flanked by police officers and other first responders, Giuliani said Chambliss’ experience is needed back in the Senate:

"His understanding of our intelligence services, his understanding of terrorism, is really surpassed by no one in Washington. And we need people like Saxby Chambliss who has that experience. Having been a first responder himself, having been someone who, from the beginning of his career in Washington, took a great interest in intelligence and improving it."

For his part, Democrat Jim Martin began sending out robo-calls featuring president-elect Barack Obama.

A new poll released by Insider Advantage puts Chambliss ahead of Martin by three percentage points – still within the margin of error.

Sarah Palin is expected to come to Georgia next week to stump for Chambliss. The former vice presidential candidate will travel across Georgia with Chambliss just one day before the election.

Romney ties Martin, Democrats to socialism

Senate candidate Jim Martin with former President Bill Clinton at Clark Atlanta University on Thursday; former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney with Republican incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss at a rally in Atlanta on Friday. (Photos: John Bazemore /AP)

Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney lent his support to Sen. Saxby Chambliss on Friday, warning that a victory by the Democratic challenger in next month’s hotly contested runoff could be the first step toward a European brand of socialism.

Romney is the latest in a parade of GOP bigwigs who have flocked to the state in the weeks before the Dec. 2 runoff between Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin. Romney’s criticism is not unlike the line of attack Sen. John McCain used unsuccessfully against Democrat Barack Obama in the campaign for president.

Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, told a crowd of about 200 cheering supporters that the general election showed that people wanted change in Washington. But the Georgia runoff, he said, could alter the very nature of the country.

"This election is about whether we want to change America. And I want to keep America America," he said to applause.

"I think in this race you have two different men who have two different views. One would take America down the course of becoming like Europe, big taxes and big government," said Romney. Chambliss, he said, "fundamentally believes in keeping America strong and safe and free."

In a brief news conference after the speech, Romney added: "I want to make sure we don’t take a left turn toward Europe."

Martin, a former state legislator, dismissed the ideological labels and stressed his record of bipartisan cooperation.

"I was one of the most effective members of the state House. I worked across party lines, and I’m going to continue to do that in Washington," he said after appearing at a campaign office in Decatur. "I’ve been a person who has always worked to try to solve the problems people face."

The Georgia race, one of two unresolved Senate races, has taken on national significance. The other is in Minnesota, where a re-count will help determine whether Republican Sen. Norm Coleman or Democrat Al Franken is the winner.

Victories in both races would give Democrats the 60 seats needed to fend off Republican filibusters.

The stakes are high, and both parties have rolled out their political heavyweights. McCain and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee both stumped for Chambliss last week, and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is scheduled to appear next week.

Former President Bill Clinton led a rally for Martin on Thursday and Clinton’s vice president, Al Gore, is set to appear Sunday. About 100 Obama field operatives have been helping boost turnout, and the president-elect recently recorded a radio ad supporting Martin’s campaign.

The national focus has helped the candidates fill their campaign coffers.

Chambliss raised about $1.9 million between Oct. 16 and Nov. 12, and has $1.4 million cash on hand remaining. Martin raised $2.4 million over the same time period, and has more than $600,000 left in the campaign bank.

Click here for more GPB News election coverage.

(AP)

NRA chief stumps for Chambliss

With the U.S. Senate runoff less than two weeks away, the head of the National Rifle Association Wayne LaPierre is in Georgia to stump for Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss.

LaPierre says Chambliss is a staunch supporter of Second Amendment rights. LaPierre’s not worried that when Democrats control Congress and the presidency next year gun rights will be curtailed.

"The average, working class Democrat man and woman, working man in this country, rank and file Democrat, strongly supports the Second Amendment and wants their rights defended and don't appreciate politicians attacking it."

Democratic challenger Jim Martin does support Second Amendment rights but with certain limitations for criminals and those with mental illnesses.

LaPierre will join Chambliss tonight for a rally in Perry, Georgia.

Sec'y of State's Office: runoff turnout a wildcard

Muscogee Co. voters waiting at the Columbus Public Library to cast their ballot in the previous round of early voting. (Dave Bender/file)

Early voting for the December 2nd runoff election began today in Fulton Co., a day after polling stations opened across much of Georgia.

Fulton had ballot counting issues in the November fourth elections. Counties must start early voting as soon as their ballots are printed, have until Wednesday to open stations.

Fulton Co. elections officials were unavailable for comment.

Voters are casting ballots for the U.S. Senate race, Georgia State Appeals Court and the Public Service Commission's District 4.

Matt Carrothers with the Secretary of State's office says it's tough to predict turnout numbers in this runoff:

“Historically, turnout is lower in a runoff election. However, this is a unique situation with being in both a presidential election year, and with a us senate race, two other statewide races – we could have higher than usual [turnout].”

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the state races.

Early voting for runoff races begins

Muscogee County voters during early elections at the Columbus Public Library. (Dave Bender/file)

Voters in most Georgia counties began casting ballots in several runoff races today. Dave Bender reports.

At the top of the list is the hotly-contested U.S. Senate runoff race between Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin.

Former presidential candidate John McCain and other senior Republican leaders have come out for Chambliss.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee addressed voters in Duluth on Sunday.

Former President Bill Clinton is set to arrive for a Martin rally on Wednesday.

Also in the offing are races for the Georgia State Appeals Court and the Public Service Commission's District 4.

Early voting in Fulton County begins Tuesday.

Fulton County voters go to the polls in the previous round of early voting. (Dave Bender/file)

The runoff is set for December second.

Both Chambliss and Martin are looking for new ways to coax weary Georgia voters back to the polls next month in one of the nation's most hotly contested Senate races.

Click here for more GPB election coverage.

Huckabee touts Chambliss, 'Fair Tax'

Former Arkansas Governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee makes a point to the crowd about the Fair Tax as Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, his wife Julianne and Fair Tax officials look on, during a rally at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga., Nov. 16, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee on Sunday backed Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss in the December second runoff against Democrat Jim Martin.

Speaking after a heavily attended rally at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Huckabee says the race's outcome will influence the effect the Republican Party will have on the nation:

“This man stands for the things that, not only Georgians stand for, but most of America, really, stands for. We lose this vote, and we lose the capacity to really stand firm on those issues. This is a critical election for all of us around America who care deeply about things that are important to Georgians.”

Some 2,000 fervent Chambliss and the Fair Tax supporters packed the hall.

Seventh District Congressman John Linder, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and Fair Tax supporter Neal Boortz also spoke at the rally.

The proposal would eliminate income tax and the Internal Revenue Service, and put in place a national sales tax instead.

Former President Bill Clinton is due to headline a rally for Martin this coming Wednesday.

Early voting for the race begins Monday.

Click here for more GPB News election coverage.

Bill Clinton coming to stump for Martin

Chambliss and Martin squared off, along with Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley, at a Georgia Public Television debate on the Sunday before the Nov. 4th elections. (Dave Bender)

Former President Bill Clinton will headline a rally for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin in Georgia.

Clinton is the first big name Democrat to stump for Martin in his Dec. 2 runoff battle with Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Republican U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss at a recent press conference at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (Dave Bender)

Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain lent his star power to a Chambliss rally Thursday and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will stump with Chambliss Sunday.

McCain claimed Georgia's electoral votes on Election Day and Huckabee won the state's Feb. 5 presidential primary.

Clinton won Georgia in his 1992 presidential bid, the last Democrat to carry the state in the race for the White House.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin during a recent press conference at his headquarters in Atlanta. (Dave Bender/file)

Martin said Saturday that Clinton - who balanced the budget - would underscore the failures of Republican leadership in Washington when it came to the economy.

Click here for more GPB News election coverage.

(AP)

US Senate run-off heats up

Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin, speaking with Georgia Public Broadcasting at a Veteran's Day parade, in midtown Atlanta. (Dave Bender)

Aides from President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign are coming to Georgia to help Democrat Jim Martin, in his runoff bid against incumbent Senator Republican Saxby Chambliss.

Chambliss will get help from John McCain who’s coming to Georgia on Thursday for a rally.

Democrat Martin says they have no commitment for President-elect Barack Obama to visit Georgia, but he says Obama staffers are coming to help:

“it’s a Georgia race, and we’ll be happy to have people come in and pay us a visit, but this is really about Georgians and who will be the best senator in the United States Senate to represent Georgia.”

Martin says his campaign has 25 field offices.

Chambliss announced yesterday he’s opening ten campaign offices.

Experts say the winner will be the one who’s got the best ground game at getting their voters back to the polls on December second.

Neither candidate got enough the necessary 50-percent plus one of the vote on Election Day.

Click here for GPB News election coverage.

Chambliss: re-election sets stage for 2010 race

Senator Saxby Chambliss today warned Georgia House Republicans that his runoff election on December 2nd is the first test of the 2010 election cycle.

Chambliss says last week’s national election results have energized Democrats in Georgia. Republicans, he says, have to hold the line next month.

"If we give them any momentum going into the governor's race and all your races next cycle, how knows where we'll be." Chambliss warned.

"Folks," he continued, " This is the most important election in this cycle."

Chambliss urged House Republicans to help him get re-elected. He said he’ll open 10 office in Georgia in the coming days.

Chambliss was .2 percent short of getting the required 50-percent-plus-one-vote margin.

His challenger Jim Martin got 46.8 percent.

McCain coming to stump for Chambliss

Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley, incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, Democratic candidate Jim Martin at the GPBTV pre-election debate. (Dave Bender)

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is coming to the aid of incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss in the upcoming runoff vote.

Chambliss campaign officials have confirmed that McCain will come to rally voters here before a December second race against Democratic challenger Jim Martin.

A campaign official says they were nailing down a date for the visit.

Chambliss’ campaign is also trying to cadge an appearance by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Martin campaign officials say they’re hoping for a visit by President-elect Barack Obama.

Obama had not confirmed an appearance as of Friday.

Neither Chambliss nor Martin got a majority of votes in the November 4^th three-way race with Libertarian Allen Buckley.

Click here for more GPB News election coverage.

Chambliss, Martin rev up for runoff

Republican incumbent Senator Saxby Chamblis and Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin and at the GPBTV pre-election debate. (Dave Bender/file)

Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin were in full campaign mode this weekend, trying to coax enough votes to prevail in a Dec. 2 runoff election.


Republican incumbent Senator Saxby Chamblis talking with reporters at a press conference held at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (Dave Bender/file)

Chambliss’ camp is preparing for a visit from former GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Martin is meeting with Cobb County Democrats and planned to visit a party phone bank operation in Decatur.

Democratic Senate race candidate Jim Martin, talking to reporters at a press conference in downtown Atlanta. (Dave Bender/file)

With less than four weeks until they face voters again, neither campaign was waiting for Secretary of State Karen Handel to make it official when she certifies election results next week.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting throughout Georgia, neither Chambliss nor Martin accumulated enough ballots to pull above the needed 50 percent plus one of the vote. The Moultrie Republican is just short, with 49.8 percent. Martin, a former state lawmaker from Atlanta, has 46.8 percent. The race also included Libertarian Allen Buckley, who drew 3.4 percent.

Military and overseas ballots were among the last to be tallied by county officials. To be counted, they had to arrive by Friday.

The state’s most populous county had been set to certify its results Saturday. But a spokesman for Fulton County’s Board of Elections said problems with a faulty memory card delayed the effort.

Voters register to cast their ballot in advance voting at the Fulton Co. Government Center polling station in downtown Atlanta. (Dave Bender)

Fulton County Board of Elections spokesman Mark Henderson said the problem had been resolved but officials decided to audit the process before making the elections results official. The certification is now expected to take place Sunday or Monday, Henderson said.

Handel’s office has criticized Fulton County for being slow to count thousands of absentee ballots and her office is investigating. Henderson said county workers were exhausted after a marathon Election Day and were sent home for a few hours to rest.

The expected Chambliss-Martin contest is already drawing a national spotlight to Georgia.

The race is one of three unresolved Senate contests nationwide, along with Minnesota and Alaska. All involve Republican incumbents. If Democrats capture all three, it would give them a 60-seat majority in the Senate, a margin needed to block Republican filibusters.

Chambliss’ campaign said they’ve also been in touch with McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, about a possible Georgia visit.

McCain carried Georgia on Election Day by 52 percent to President-elect Barack Obama’s 47 percent.

Nonetheless, Martin has asked Obama to help out, but no word yet on whether he’ll stump for Martin.

Then President-elect Bill Clinton came to Georgia to campaign for Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler in his 1992 runoff race. But even with the high-profile help, Fowler went on to lose to Republican Paul Coverdell in what was the last U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia.

Martin and Chambliss arguing a point during the GPBTV pre-election debate. At bottom is Libertarian candidate Allan Buckley. (Dave Bender/file)

Click here for more GPB News election coverage.