Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) defeated Jim Martin (D) with a clear mandate — by nearly 15 points! –from Georgia voters: we want to stay a red Peach State. This win for the Republicans assures that no super-majority can be achieved by Senate Democrats. Whew!
But it’s really about more than that…
Clearly, the Democratic vote driving machine did not work this time in the runoff election. Black voters didn’t turn out to vote for Martin as they had in the general election for Obama. If this is any indication of voter turnout in 2010, the GOP certainly will attempt to exploit this kink in the armor.
And why didn’t President-elect Obama go down to Georgia to support Martin knowing how important of a race it was? Was he never a believer in Martin? I’m sure Jim Martin is left with a bitter taste in his mouth after this campaign, and not because he’d lost, but because “The One” didn’t consider traveling to the Peach State to rally for him.
Chambliss had better luck with his support cast. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin went to Georgia to campaign for Chambliss, and according to the senator, “When she walks in a room, folks just explode.” No matter what your opinion of her is, she’s going to stay on the media radar and remain a star in the Republican Party.
And what about the messy senate race in Minnesota? Some Democrats are scared of Al Franken actually becoming a U.S. senator. Is it really that easy for any Hollywood hack to become a Washington politician?! Will a Franken win encourage more of these west coast loudmouths to run for office? A Hollywood invasion of Washington. That won’t be a pretty sight.
