Help Defeat Shamless Chambliss

In 23 days, Georgia voters will go to the polls to decide who their newest US Senator will be..again. 

Jim Martin fell less than 3 points shy of beating incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss on November 4th. Neither candidate reached the 50% threshold required to win the seat outright and so the runoff is set for December 2nd.

Chambliss' dirty record over the past six years began with a disgusting ad against former Senator Max Cleland. Cleland, a Silver Star recipient who lost three limbs while serving in Vietnam, was portrayed in the ad alongside Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.  Although the ad was quickly condemned by Republicans John McCain and Chuck Hagel, Cleland fell victim of the once popular Rove politics of fear. John McCain, no stranger to shameless ads himself, will be campaigning alongside Chambliss in the coming weeks.

Chambliss stood side by side with George W. Bush when privatizing social security seemed like a good idea and has been a very good friend of big oil. His record on veterans' benefits is one of the worst. He voted against funding modern body armor for soldiers in Iraq and opposed increased funding for veterans' health care programs 16 times. Overall, according to the Washington Post, Chambliss voted with George Bush 92% of the time. 

Here's Chambliss speaking for himself in this video: 

"One of the main reasons I'm running for the United States Senate is to make sure we get the Bush agenda enacted into law."

Help Jim Martin crush Shameless Chambliss on December 2nd by making a contribution to his campaign and by volunteering today.

November 4 Results (99% reporting)

Chambliss   1,866,612 (49.76%)

Martin 1,756,864 (46.83%)

Buckley    127,974 (3.41%)

Our Work Is Never Finished

A few Senate races are hanging in the balance. At least one will be up in the air for weeks.

• FiveThirtyEight is reporting that Saxby Chambliss did not reach the 50% threshold needed to secure victory last night.  He will have to face Martin again in a December runoff. 

• Just 571 votes separated Norm Coleman and Al Franken when the votes were counted last night in Minnesota. A mandatory recount is underway.

• Ted Stevens is somehow leading Mark Begich up in Alaska. While all the votes haven't been counted, Stevens is leading by more than 3000 votes with 99% reporting.  He's probably headed for victory. Democrats and Republicans are likely to throw Stevens out in January which will require a special election to replace him. And guess which Alaskan Republican is likely to run for his seat?  Mrs. Palin of course! 
  
  Looking further down the road, Palin would then have two years under her belt to run against Obama in the 2012 general.  You can bet ElectBlue will be following this race very closely and supporting Begich against his Republican opponent, whoever s/he is.

We will continue to follow these races as they develop.  Please support Jim Martin, Mark Begich and Al Franken today.

GA Senate: Chambliss In Big Trouble

A seat in the US Senate with Saxby Chambliss' name on it is no longer safe. The Washington Post this morning has a write-up about Democrat Jim Martin and his sudden surge in polls. Exposing Chambliss as being at the "root of the problem," Martin continues to hammer away at his opponent's poor economic track record.

Martin has a clear momentum advantage and plenty enough time to make up what little margin he's behind. ElectBlue currently projects the race to be leaning Republican for the moment. Pollster.com projects the race as too close to call (chart below). Click here for Washington Times story.

ElectBlue Now Targeting Georgia Senate Race

We are pleased to add Georgia Democrat Jim Martin to our list of targeted US Senate candidates for this cycle. Martin is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss in the Peach State. Making economic issues the focal point of his campaign, Martin has surged in recent polls and now is tied with Chambliss in this critical race. Voter turnout and campaign funding will be crucial to a Martin victory.

A Democratic pick-up of the Georgia seat would be a huge step towards the sixty-seat Senate majority Dems need to prevent Republican obstruction of vital legislation in the next Congress. We urge out readers to support Jim Martin in whatever way they can. Note that we have added a direct link to the Martin Campaign website in the left margin of this page. Please click on it today to contribute to Jim's campaign.

Regrettably, we have removed Bob Tuke in Tennessee from our list of targeted candidates. Underfunded and lacking the support of a strong, united Democratic Party, the Tuke campaign has not gotten off the ground and appears to be only a pro forma effort. We still urge our Tennessee readers to vote for Tuke, a good and decent man, but we must advise Volunteer State Democrats that any financial contributions towards a sixty-seat Democratic majority in the US Senate would be better made to any one of the Democrats in hotly contested races in four states that border Tennessee: NC, GA, KY and MS.

Similarly, in spite of a valiant effort, Larry LaRocco's campaign for the US Senate appears to have hit a wall in rock-ribbed Republican Idaho. As we are doing in TN, we urge Idaho Democrats to vote for LaRocco, but suggest that contributions to Jeff Merkley's campaign in neighboring Oregon would better serve the goal of getting sixty Democrats in the Senate.