Thursday, November 20, 2008
Democrat Zell Miller Backs Chambliss in Ga.
Democrat Zell Miller Backs Chambliss in Ga.
Former Democratic Senator and Georgia Governor Zell Miller has endorsed Republican incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the upcoming runoff election in Georgia against Democratic challenger Jim Martin.
The Republican National Senatorial Committee is running a Web-only ad featuring a speech that Miller delivered at a Chambliss rally on Thursday.
Neither Chambliss nor Martin garnered 50 percent of the vote on Election Day, necessitating a runoff on Dec. 2.
Mindful that Democrats could have 59 Senate seats by that time, one short of a filibuster-proof majority, Miller told the gathering that Saxby “could well be the last man standing [against] a far-left liberal agenda sailing through the U.S. Senate, an agenda that Jim Martin just can’t wait to help move on.”
Miller said when he was governor, “I proposed a $100 million tax cut for Georgia. Guess who [was] the very first state legislator [who] popped up and said, this is wrong, we’ve got too many unmet needs to do it? You guessed it. His name was Jim Martin.
“Unmet needs. I think the greatest unmet need is getting that money back to the taxpayers.
“I have served with both these men in this race. And there is no question in my mind or in my heart which one is the best prepared to serve our country and serve our state. And that is our senior Senator, Saxby Chambliss.”
Miller served as Georgia governor from 1991 to 1999, and delivered the keynote speech at the 1992 Democratic convention. But in the years since he has been drifting to the right.
He was appointed to the U.S. Senate from Georgia after the death of Paul Coverdell in July 2000, and retained his seat in a special election the following November.
In 2004, Miller delivered the keynote speech at the GOP convention, and he backed President George W. Bush over John Kerry in the general election.
Miller did not run for re-election and left the Senate in 2005.
In the RNSC ad, he alludes to President-elect Barack Obama’s likely economic policies and declares: “I don’t like this spread the wealth. To steal from Peter to pay Paul even if it gets Paul to vote for you, is wrong, wrong, wrong.”
Former Democratic Senator and Georgia Governor Zell Miller has endorsed Republican incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the upcoming runoff election in Georgia against Democratic challenger Jim Martin.
The Republican National Senatorial Committee is running a Web-only ad featuring a speech that Miller delivered at a Chambliss rally on Thursday.
Neither Chambliss nor Martin garnered 50 percent of the vote on Election Day, necessitating a runoff on Dec. 2.
Mindful that Democrats could have 59 Senate seats by that time, one short of a filibuster-proof majority, Miller told the gathering that Saxby “could well be the last man standing [against] a far-left liberal agenda sailing through the U.S. Senate, an agenda that Jim Martin just can’t wait to help move on.”
Miller said when he was governor, “I proposed a $100 million tax cut for Georgia. Guess who [was] the very first state legislator [who] popped up and said, this is wrong, we’ve got too many unmet needs to do it? You guessed it. His name was Jim Martin.
“Unmet needs. I think the greatest unmet need is getting that money back to the taxpayers.
“I have served with both these men in this race. And there is no question in my mind or in my heart which one is the best prepared to serve our country and serve our state. And that is our senior Senator, Saxby Chambliss.”
Miller served as Georgia governor from 1991 to 1999, and delivered the keynote speech at the 1992 Democratic convention. But in the years since he has been drifting to the right.
He was appointed to the U.S. Senate from Georgia after the death of Paul Coverdell in July 2000, and retained his seat in a special election the following November.
In 2004, Miller delivered the keynote speech at the GOP convention, and he backed President George W. Bush over John Kerry in the general election.
Miller did not run for re-election and left the Senate in 2005.
In the RNSC ad, he alludes to President-elect Barack Obama’s likely economic policies and declares: “I don’t like this spread the wealth. To steal from Peter to pay Paul even if it gets Paul to vote for you, is wrong, wrong, wrong.”
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Runoff Likely In Georgia Senate Race
Runoff Likely In Georgia Senate Race
ATLANTA — The last seat of the new Senate will likely be determined by a runoff in Georgia, where Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss apparently came just short of winning enough votes to send him to a second term.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday, Chambliss had 49.8 percent of the vote, shy of the 50 percent plus one required under state law to avoid a runoff. The mild-mannered Democrat Jim Martin, a former Georgia legislator and once-reluctant Senate candidate, won 46.8 percent of the vote. Libertarian Allen Buckley pulled 3.4 percent.
Some absentee votes were still being counted late Wednesday. However, if the current results hold, Chambliss would face Martin on Dec. 2.
"We're prepared for a runoff. We have already hit the ground," said Chambliss, who was expected to coast to re-election in reliably GOP Georgia before the nation's economy faltered, fueling a wave of anti-incumbent frustration. Some conservatives were angered that Chambliss backed the $700 billion bailout.
Martin said he had already been in touch with Barack Obama's campaign, but there were no immediate plans for the president-elect to visit Georgia. "The runoff race begins right now," Martin said.
It would be the first test of whether Obama can mobilize voters when he is not on the ballot. On Tuesday, Democrats added three seats to their Senate majority, but even if they swept the remaining still undecided races, they would fall short of the filibuster-proof, 60-vote majority.
Runoff results from top vote getters have been mixed in Georgia.
Of 215 local and statewide runoffs held between 1970 and 1986, the top vote getter in the general election won the runoff 69 percent of the time, according to the book "Politics in Georgia."
But more recently, incumbent Sen. Wyche Fowler led on Election Day before ultimately losing a runoff in 1992. A public service commissioner suffered the same fate in 2006.
Some claim Georgia's runoff law was intended to thin black voting strength and prevent African-American candidates who led in primaries from making it to the general election. Black front-runners in the primary won just 50 percent of runoffs when they faced white candidates between 1970 and 1986, according to "Politics in Georgia."
ATLANTA — The last seat of the new Senate will likely be determined by a runoff in Georgia, where Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss apparently came just short of winning enough votes to send him to a second term.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday, Chambliss had 49.8 percent of the vote, shy of the 50 percent plus one required under state law to avoid a runoff. The mild-mannered Democrat Jim Martin, a former Georgia legislator and once-reluctant Senate candidate, won 46.8 percent of the vote. Libertarian Allen Buckley pulled 3.4 percent.
Some absentee votes were still being counted late Wednesday. However, if the current results hold, Chambliss would face Martin on Dec. 2.
"We're prepared for a runoff. We have already hit the ground," said Chambliss, who was expected to coast to re-election in reliably GOP Georgia before the nation's economy faltered, fueling a wave of anti-incumbent frustration. Some conservatives were angered that Chambliss backed the $700 billion bailout.
Martin said he had already been in touch with Barack Obama's campaign, but there were no immediate plans for the president-elect to visit Georgia. "The runoff race begins right now," Martin said.
It would be the first test of whether Obama can mobilize voters when he is not on the ballot. On Tuesday, Democrats added three seats to their Senate majority, but even if they swept the remaining still undecided races, they would fall short of the filibuster-proof, 60-vote majority.
Runoff results from top vote getters have been mixed in Georgia.
Of 215 local and statewide runoffs held between 1970 and 1986, the top vote getter in the general election won the runoff 69 percent of the time, according to the book "Politics in Georgia."
But more recently, incumbent Sen. Wyche Fowler led on Election Day before ultimately losing a runoff in 1992. A public service commissioner suffered the same fate in 2006.
Some claim Georgia's runoff law was intended to thin black voting strength and prevent African-American candidates who led in primaries from making it to the general election. Black front-runners in the primary won just 50 percent of runoffs when they faced white candidates between 1970 and 1986, according to "Politics in Georgia."
