2008 United States Senate election in Georgia

The 2008 United States Senate election in Georgia took place on November 4, 2008. The run off election took place on December 2, 2008. Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss, first elected in 2002, sought re-election to his position as a United States Senator from Georgia. He was challenged by Democratic nominee Jim Martin and Libertarian nominee Allen Buckley. After a runoff election on December 2, Chambliss was elected.^[1][2]

2008 United States Senate election in Georgia

← 2002 November 4, 2008 (first round) December 2, 2008 (runoff) 2014 →

Nominee Saxby Chambliss Jim Martin Party Republican Democratic First round 1,867,097 49.76% 1,757,393 46.83% Runoff 1,228,033 57.44% 909,923 42.56%

First round county results Runoff county results Chambliss:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Martin:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% Tie:      40–50%

U.S. Senator before election Saxby Chambliss Republican Elected U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss Republican

The runoff was necessary as neither Chambliss nor Martin, the two major party candidates, had won a majority of the vote in the first round. Early voting hours were set by county, and started November 17 or November 18. Prior to the runoff, advanced polls were open from November 24 to the 26th.^[3] Since the election was a runoff, only those voters who registered in time for the general election could cast ballots. It was the second Senate runoff election to be held in Georgia since runoffs were first mandated in 1964, following a runoff in 1992.

As of 2023, this remains the only time in history that a Republican has won re-election to Georgia's Class 2 Senate seat.

Republican primary

Candidates

• Saxby Chambliss, incumbent U.S. Senator

Results

2008 Georgia U.S. Senate Republican primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Saxby Chambliss (incumbent)	392,902	100.0%
Turnout			392,928	100.0%

Democratic primary

The general primary was held July 15, 2008.^[4] A run-off between the top two Democratic contenders was held on August 5, in which Jim Martin defeated Vernon Jones.^[5]

Candidates

• Jim Martin, former State Representative and nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2006
• Vernon Jones, businessman, DeKalb County chief executive officer and former State Representative
• Dale Cardwell, TV journalist^[6]
• Rand Knight, businessman
• Josh Lanier, Vietnam War veteran and former aide to U.S. Senator Herman Talmadge

Polling

Source	Date	Cardwell	Jones	Knight	Lanier	Martin
	May 9–11, 2008	20%	28%	11%	5%	15%
	May 12, 2008	14%	21%	1%	5%	3%
	May 29, 2008	7%	16%	2%	3%	21%
	June 27–29, 2008	22%	25%	14%	6%	17%
	July 8–9, 2008	11%	20%	4%	1%	31%

Initial results

Results^[7] for the first round showed that since Vernon Jones did not win a majority of the vote, a runoff was held between him and Martin. Martin subsequently won the runoff.

2008 Georgia U.S. Senate Democratic primary election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vernon Jones	199,026	40.4%
	Democratic	Jim Martin	169,635	34.4%
	Democratic	Dale Cardwell	79,181	16.1%
	Democratic	Rand Knight	25,667	5.2%
	Democratic	Josh Lanier	19,717	4.0%
Total votes			493,226	100.0%

Run off results

2008 Georgia U.S. Senate Democratic primary election runoff

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Jim Martin	191,061	59.9%	+25.5%
	Democratic	Vernon Jones	127,993	40.1%	−0.3%
Total votes			319,054	100.0%

General election

Candidates

Democratic

Jim Martin, a former State Representative, former State Human Resources Commissioner, Vietnam War veteran, and 2006 nominee for lieutenant governor, challenged Chambliss for his seat. He made his support for PeachCare and other social services a signature issue in the campaign.^{[citation needed]} He made his opposition to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 an issue in the run off.^{[citation needed]}

Libertarian

Allen Buckley - Attorney, accountant, 2004 Senate nominee, and 2006 nominee for lieutenant governor. He was eliminated in the general election, but his endorsement was sought by both the Martin and Chambliss campaigns.^{[citation needed]}

Republican

Sen. Saxby Chambliss running for re-election for the first time, is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 and had only one serious election challenge while in the House.^{[citation needed]} He maintained high ratings from conservative interest groups such as the National Rifle Association of America, and the National Right to Life Committee,^[8] and correspondingly low marks from liberal interest groups such as the NAACP and ACLU.^[8] He sponsored legislation while in the Senate to replace the income tax with a national sales tax.^{[citation needed]}

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[9]	Tossup	October 23, 2008
CQ Politics^[10]	Tossup	October 31, 2008
Rothenberg Political Report^[11]	Lean R	November 2, 2008
Real Clear Politics^[12]	Tossup	November 2, 2008

Polling

Chambliss vs. Martin

Source	Date	Chambliss (R)	Martin (D)
	June 26, 2008	52%	39%
	June 29, 2008	57%	28%
	July 21, 2008	51%	40%
	August 14, 2008	50%	44%
Survey USA	September 14–16, 2008	53%	36%
	September 16, 2008	50%	43%
Survey USA	September 29, 2008	46%	44%
Research 2000^[13]	September 29 – October 1, 2008	45%	44%
	October 7, 2008	50%	44%
	October 9, 2008	45%	45%
Survey USA	October 12, 2008	46%	43%
	October 22, 2008	47%	45%
	October 30, 2008	48%	43%
Survey USA	November 2, 2008	48%	44%
	November 2, 2008	48%	46%

Chambliss vs. Jones (Hypothetical)

Source	Date	Chambliss (R)	Jones (D)
	July 21, 2008	59%	29%
	June 29, 2008	57%	27%
	June 26, 2008	57%	30%
	December 12, 2007	57%	27%
	November 13, 2007	55%	32%
	September 23, 2007	53%	28%
	June 24, 2007	55%	31%
	September 23, 2007	53%	28%
	June 24, 2007	55%	31%
	May 23, 2007	48%	31%
	April 7, 2007	57%	29%

Results

As no candidate reached a majority on November 4, a runoff election was held on December 2, which Chambliss won.

2008 United States Senate general election in Georgia^[14][15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Saxby Chambliss (Incumbent)	1,867,097	49.76%	−3.01%
	Democratic	Jim Martin	1,757,393	46.83%	+0.93%
	Libertarian	Allen Buckley	127,923	3.41%	+2.08%
	Socialist Workers	Eleanor Garcia (write-in)	43	0.00%	n/a
	Independent	William Salomone, Jr. (write-in)	29	0.00%	n/a
Majority			109,704	2.93%	-3.95%
Turnout			3,752,577

Runoff election

Candidates

• Chambliss (R)
• Martin (D)

Campaign

 

Wikinews has related news:

• Republican Senator from Georgia wins run-off election

Both qualifying candidates' runoff campaigns began in earnest on November 10, when election returns made it clear that a runoff would be required. With an election date of December 2, candidates were given only 3 weeks for additional campaigning.

The Libertarian nominee did not endorse either candidate in the run-off, though both campaigns reportedly inquired about getting Buckley's endorsement.^{[citation needed]} Major political figures such as former President Bill Clinton, Republican Senator and 2008 presidential nominee John McCain and his former running mate Sarah Palin campaigned in Georgia^{[citation needed]}, because of the election's potential to determine whether the Democratic Party could block filibusters in the United States Senate. Historically, run-off elections in Georgia have had significantly lower turnout than have general elections.^{[citation needed]}

Chambliss's campaign verified that former Republican presidential candidates John McCain and Mike Huckabee would be campaigning in Georgia on the Senator's behalf, and former Democratic Governor and former U.S. Senator Zell Miller endorsed Chambliss. Former President Bill Clinton campaigned on Martin's behalf. Sarah Palin campaigned for the Chambliss campaign on December 1, the eve of the run-off election.^[16] President-elect Barack Obama had also been invited by the Democratic campaign but decided against making a stop.^[17]

The results of the runoff election were of particular interest to both parties.^{[citation needed]} Subsequent to the November 4 general elections, Democrats had captured 58 seats in the Senate, two shy of a filibuster-proof supermajority. The result of Georgia's runoff election, as well as the results of an extremely close race and recount in Minnesota, would determine whether or not the required majority of 60 seats would be met.^[18] Although the Democratic nominee lost the runoff, the party would still obtain a supermajority after Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter switched from the Republican party to the Democratic party in April 2009 and Democrat Al Franken won in Minnesota after several recounts in June 2009.

Polling

Source	Date	Chambliss (R)	Martin (D)
	November 18, 2008	50%	46%
	November 23, 2008	52%	46%
	November 30, 2008	53%	46%

Results

Douglas, Rockdale, Newton, McIntosh, Merriwether, Chattahoochee, Webster, and Marion counties were won by Chambliss in the runoff, after he lost them in the general. Additionally, Mitchell County went from tied to Chambliss, and Early County switched from Chambliss to Martin.

Runoff results^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Saxby Chambliss (Incumbent)	1,228,033	57.44%	N/A
	Democratic	Jim Martin	909,923	42.56%	N/A
Majority			318,110	14.88%
Turnout			2,137,956
	Republican hold		Swing

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Ben Hill (Largest city: Fitzgerald)
• Brooks (Largest city: Quitman)
• Decatur (Largest city: Bainbridge)
• Elbert (Largest city: Elberton)
• Grady (Largest city: Cairo)
• Marion (Largest city: Buena Vista)
• Seminole (Largest city: Donalsonville)
• Taylor (Largest city: Butler)
• Chattahoochee (largest municipality: Cusseta)
• McIntosh (largest municipality: Darien)
• Meriwether (largest municipality: Manchester)
• Mitchell (largest municipality: Camilla)
• Hart (Largest city: Hartwell)
• Long (Largest city: Ludowici)
• Wilkes (Largest city: Washington)
• Webster (largest town: Preston)

See also

•  Georgia (U.S. State) portal

• 2008 United States Senate elections

References

1. Steinhauser, Paul (December 2, 2008). "gop Senate win in Georgia means Democrats can't halt filibusters". CNN.
2. "GOP's Chambliss wins Ga. Senate runoff". NBC News. Associated Press. December 2, 2008.
3. Elections Division November 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Georgia Secretary of State
4. Unofficial And Incomplete Results of the Tuesday, July 15, 2008 General Primary Election Georgia Secretary of State
5. Kapochunas, Rachel (August 5, 2008). . CQ Politics. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
6. "Says Cardwell: Chambliss is 'a borrow-and-spend pawn of the special interests'".
7. 7/15/2008 - Federal and Statewide
8. "Saxby Chambliss". VoteSmart. from the original on December 18, 2019.
9. "2008 Senate Race ratings for October 23, 2008". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
10. Race Ratings Chart: Senate October 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine CQ Politics
11. "2008 Senate ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
12. "2008 RCP Averages & Senate Results". Real Clear Politics. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
13. . Daily Kos. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2008.
14. . Georgia Secretary of State. November 10, 2008. Archived from the original on November 12, 2008. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
15. "Georgia 2008 General Election". The Green Papers. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
16. . Archived from the original on November 27, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
17. Tharpe, Jim (November 11, 2008). "Senate runoff fast and furious". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
18. Britt, Russ (November 6, 2008). "Democrats still have shot at filibuster-proof Senate". Market Watch. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
19. "Georgia Election Results". State of Georgia Secretary of State. December 2, 2008. Retrieved December 3, 2008.

External links

• Elections Division from the Georgia Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for Georgia at Project Vote Smart
• from CQ Politics
• Georgia U.S. Senate from OurCampaigns.com
• from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for Georgia congressional races from OpenSecrets
• Official campaign websites (Archived)
  • , Republican incumbent nominee
  • Dale Cardwell, Democratic candidate
  • , Democratic candidate
  • , Democratic candidate
  • , Democratic candidate
  • , Democratic nominee
  • , Libertarian nominee