ATLANTA --- Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Democratic challenger Jim Martin geared up Wednesday for a runoff even as state and county election officials continue to sift through ballots to see whether a second vote is necessary.
Some experts say it could take until Friday for all the results to be tallied. State officials must certify the election returns next week.
At a morning news conference at his campaign headquarters, Mr. Chambliss did not concede that he would fall short of the popular vote majority needed to avoid a runoff but said his campaign was preparing for one.
"We have already hit the ground," Mr. Chambliss said. "We have already organized for this runoff. ... We expect that, at the end of the four-week period, that we will maintain a strong lead."
Mr. Chambliss leads in figures supplied by the Secretary of State's Office, with 49.9 percent compared with Mr. Martin's 46.7 and Libertarian Allen Buckley's 3.4 percent. But Georgia law requires a runoff between the two top vote-getters when no candidate receives more than 50 percent.
The incumbent touted his lead as proof that he is well-positioned for any runoff and that Georgians would elect him now that the clutter of a hotly contested and attention-grabbing presidential race has been removed.
"I think folks now will have the opportunity to focus on one race, two candidates," Mr. Chambliss said.
Mr. Martin met with reporters at his headquarters as Mr. Chambliss held his news conference. Mr. Martin was certain there would be a runoff and said he had already invited Barack Obama to campaign on his behalf.
"We're going to win on Dec. 2 because this race is going to be about helping President-elect Barack Obama get our economy back on track and making the economy work for the middle class again," Mr. Martin said.
The Democrat is portraying his election as the completion of the Obama wave that swept the nation, discounting the fact that Georgia went for Republican Sen. John McCain.
Mr. Chambliss said he fully expects to see Mr. Obama try to influence the race on behalf of Mr. Martin.
"They're locked at the hip on raising taxes and putting more spending programs in place," he said.
But Mr. Chambliss said no decision has been made on whether to counter with President Bush or other national Republicans.
One thing Mr. Martin did predict was another round of negative ads.
"There are stark differences between me and Saxby Chambliss," he said. "We're going to talk about them, but we're not going to make personal attacks."
MEANWHILE, SUPPORTERS of Mr. Buckley, the third man in Tuesday's election, will likely be courted by Mr. Chambliss and Mr. Martin. Mr. Buckley hasn't made his position known, but in Sunday's statewide debate he said Mr. Martin is a good man but the wrong one to be senator and that Mr. Chambliss had been a terrible senator.
So far, counties have reported only 96 percent of their precincts. Many counties are treating votes cast in early voting on machines in person and by mail-in absentee ballots as additional precincts, making it difficult for state officials to know the number of votes remaining to be counted.
Some counties reported their early and absentee ballots shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday while other counties chose to tally those votes last.
Two other statewide runoffs were certain Tuesday, in the seven-person race for a vacant seat on the Court of Appeals, and for a vacant seat on the Public Service Commission. The runoff is Dec. 2.
Comments
Saxby took over $2,000,000.00 from Wall Street LOBBYIST for our VOTE ON THE $700,000,000,000.00 WITH AN ADDED $153,000,000,000.00 OF pork Bail Out Wall Street Rip Off. Saxby repesents LOBBYIST not Georgia. We need to turn out the socialist Saxby , Martin is actually more CONSERVATIVE than the RINO Chambliss.
GA Values, Chambliss voted against the Wall Street bailout.
White Trash, he voted the first time against the Bailout, however, he voted for the bailout when they revised it.
champagne is right. I'm not voting for Martin but against Chambliss! It's time these crooks in Washington go home...
Saying nothing negative about Martin, if he goes to Washington he only adds to the liberal Democrat lock on control of the Government. As a junior senator he must vote the party line or be relagated to a back bench and ruin his political career. Regardless of Martins personal views a vote for him is a vote for abortion without restrictions, homosexual supremacy and Marxist social and fiscal policies.
white_trash---all our 7 real Republican Congressmen in the House voted against the Wall Street Bail out but Saxby the SOCIALIST voted for it first time in the Senate.. By the way, in the PORK that was added an English Company, DIAGEO, got a $192,000,000.00 Rum factory in the Virgin Islands at US taxpayer expense.. SAXBY ECONOMICS AT WORK
Saxby Chambliss... shirked his duty when it was his time to serve (in Vietnam)... multiple times his draft numbers came up and each time he chose to take deferments he sent other kids to take his place in Vietnam. Did these kids make it home ok??? Did they get to have kids??? Did their kids become lobbyists??? It is easy to talk tough when it is someone else's blood. Saxby Chambliss shirked his duty when it was his time to serve. Looking at the counties where there are military bases I see many other military families have voted against Saxby Chambliss. He needs to go. Vote him out of office.
Vote Chambliss out in the runoff
Get ready for GA to finally be a battleground state. Dems are going to poor money into the run-off to defeat the Chicken Hawk Chambliss. Jim Martin a Vietnam Vet who will fight for all Veterans and people of GA.
Truckin, what you say may be true but that doesn't change the point I made about the consequences of electing Martin. If I knew Martin I would probably like him but because of the added power he would give to Democrats I would have to vote against him.
Get ready for another round of incessant robo-calls :-(
John McCain criticized Chambliss’ 2002 race against Max Cleland.
"I've never seen anything like that ad," says McCain. "Putting pictures of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden next to a picture of a man who left three limbs on the battlefield -- it's worse than disgraceful, it's reprehensible."" (Washington Post, 7/3/2003)
The other side of the coin GA, Do you give a man a free pass because he lost three limbs to an accident in a combat zone? You have to have compassion for his loss but that cannot be used to excuse poor legislative performance.
Who can deliver? Forget about politics for a minute. We are going through the worst economic times in most of our life times. We have a strongly Democrat Congress and White House. It isn't fair put both parties take care of their own. Chambliss did well under Bush. He won't get even get hind teet from Obama! He knows it! Martin will get much more help for Georgia!
We are lucky because we already know who is going to be President. With one Democrat Senator voters can really change what Georgia gets from Washington! Vote your pocket book!
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