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Polls open for Georgia runoffs
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| Contributor | Scott³ |
| Last Edited | Scott³ Dec 02, 2008 07:31pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Tuesday, December 2, 2008 01:30:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | AP.
Excerpt...
"Georgia voters are returning to the polls today to decide one of two unresolved U.S. Senate races that Democrats need to win for a 60-seat majority impervious to GOP filibusters.
Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss faces Democrat Jim Martin in the runoff that caps a grueling campaign highlighted by visits from political heavyweights, gobs of advertising and hordes of volunteers.
In Minnesota, a recount that could take weeks is under way in the tight race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.
Chambliss, seeking a second term, fell short of crossing the 50 percent threshold in a three-way race against Martin and Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley in last month's contest. It's Georgia's first Senate runoff since 1992, when Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler was upset by Republican Paul Coverdell.
Chambliss was elected to the Senate in 2002 when he succeeded in a longshot bid to oust Democratic Sen. Max Cleland. But his campaign infuriated Democrats with a TV ad that questioned Cleland's commitment to national security and flashed a photo of Osama bin Laden.
Martin has aligned himself with President-elect Barack Obama's message of change, and has vowed to provide economic relief for the middle class. Chambliss has played to his base by promising to be a firewall against a Democratic-dominated Washington getting a ``blank check.''
So far, early voting statistics are encouraging for the Chambliss camp. Of the nearly 500,000 early voters who returned to the polls, turnout among black voters is down and turnout among white males is up compared with advance voting before the general election.
White males normally are a solid Republican constituency in Georgia, while exit polls showed that Martin won the votes of nine of ten Georgia blacks who registered a preference.
Still, analysts say it's hard to tell how that may impact Tuesday's contest." |
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