On
Dec.
2,
Georgia
voters
will
be
asked
to
cast
a
ballot
for
the
fifth,
and
likely
final,
time
in
2008,
in
order
to
settle
a
hotly
contested
U.S.
Senate
seat,
a
state
Public
Safety
Commission
spot
and
a
Court
of
Appeals
judgeship.
Other
county
races
also
appear
on
some
local
ballots.
When
votes
from
the
Nov.
4
general
election
were
certified
the
week
of
Nov.
10,
Republican
Sen.
Saxby
Chambliss
captured
1,867,090,
votes,
or
49.8
percent
of
the
total
vote,
short
of
the
50
percent
plus
one
Georgia
requires
for
victory.
Former
Democratic
state
lawmaker
Jim
Martin
garnered
1,757,419
votes,
for
46.8
percent,
and
Libertarian
Allen
Buckley
took
128,002
votes,
or
3.4
percent.
While
Chambliss
is
considered
by
political
pundits
to
be
the
favorite
due
to
his
incumbent
status
and
having
received
100,000
more
votes
in
the
general
election,
the
runoff
could
be
close.
“I’ll
tell
you
this,
it’s
not
going
to
be
a
blowout
either
way,”
Georgia
Equality
Executive
Director
Jeff
Graham
said.
“Whoever
wins
this,
it’s
going
to
be
close.”
Georgia
Equality
does
not
endorse
in
federal
elections,
but
Martin
has
received
support
from
two
national
gay
political
groups
—
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
and
the
Stonewall
Democrats.
The
perceived
closeness
of
the
race
has
energized
the
bases
of
both
parties.
“There
has
been
a
lot
of
energy
and
enthusiasm
at
our
rallies,”
said
Ben
Fry,
the
executive
director
of
the
Georgia
Republican
Party.
Chambliss
has
been
campaigning
with
the
likes
of
former
presidential
candidate
Sen.
John
McCain.
Former
vice
presidential
candidate
Sarah
Palin
is
also
expected
to
visit
Atlanta
to
stump
for
Chambliss.
Martin,
too,
has
pulled
in
the
star
power
for
his
recent
rallies.
He
has
appeared
with
former
President
Bill
Clinton
and
former
Vice
President
Al
Gore.
President-Elect
Barack
Obama
has
also
made
recorded
calls
on
behalf
of
Martin.
Democratic
Party
of
Georgia
Spokesperson
Martin
Matheny
said
voter
fatigue
hasn’t
set
in
on
their
side.
“Wherever
I’ve
talked
to
people,
and
I’ve
been
out
with
Jim,
people
are
excited
to
vote
for
Martin,
and
so
I
don’t
think
there
will
be
a
case
of
people
not
showing
up,”
Matheny
said.
“The
people
I’ve
talked
with
have
seen
it
like
finishing
the
job.”
The
Georgia
race
has
garnered
national
attention
because
it
might
be
the
race
that
decides
if
the
Democrats
hold
a
60-seat
majority
in
the
Senate.
Those
60
seats
would
prevent
Republicans
from
filibustering
key
legislation
and
appointments.
For
gay
voters
it
could
make
a
difference
on
a
number
of
issues
where
Martin
and
Chambliss
differ
drastically.
SEEKING
THE
60TH
SEAT
Chambliss
has
vowed
to
obstruct
Obama
on
what
he
called
a
“liberal
agenda,”
and
said
his
voice
would
be
heard
on
issues
like
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act,
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
and
amending
the
federal
hate
crimes
law
to
include
protections
for
gay
and
transgender
individuals.
Martin
has
a
long
record
of
fighting
for
HIV
and
gay
issues
from
his
years
in
the
Georgia
General
Assembly.
He
supports
ENDA,
overturning
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell,”
and
expanding
hate
crimes
laws,
among
other
issues.
However,
Chambliss
has
been
reluctant
to
directly
address
gay
issues
in
public,
and
has
largely
avoided
mentioning
Martin’s
support
for
gay
issues
during
his
18
years
as
a
state
house
Representative
from
Midtown.
“Actually
I’m
a
little
surprised
there
hasn’t
been
more
attention
drawn
on
that
part
of
Jim’s
record,”
Graham
said.
Although
Chambliss
has
stayed
away
from
making
gays
rights
a
campaign
issue,
it
hasn’t
kept
his
supporters
from
weighing
in
on
the
issue.
The
American
Family
Association
ran
a
radio
ad
saying
that
Chambliss
is
“good
on
families,”
while
Martin
“supports
special
rights
for
gays.”
The
National
Republican
Senatorial
Committee
mailed
a
flier
which
noted
Martin’s
opposition
to
amending
the
U.S.
Constitution
to
ban
gay
marriage.
While
the
Public
Service
Commission
doesn’t
deal
with
gay-specific
issues,
Matheny
said
voters
still
have
a
stake
in
the
outcome
of
Democrat
Jim
Powell’s
run
against
Republican
Lauren
McDonald.
“There
are
three
bills
that
just
about
every
house
in
Georgia
pays,”
Matheny
said.
“That’s
a
gas
bill,
an
electric
bill
and
a
phone
bill,
and
right
now
you’ve
got
four
folks
looking
out
for
the
power
companies.
If
you’ve
got
four
folks
looking
out
for
the
power
companies,
don’t
you
think
there
should
be
one
person
out
there
looking
out
for
you?”
COURT OF
APPEALS,
PSC
RACES
While
Powell
is
campaigning
as
the
voice
of
consumers,
McDonald’s
website
shows
that
he
considers
himself
to
be
a
conservative
manager
who
resists
efforts
to
tax
energy
companies
more
and
supports
building
new
nuclear
power
plants
in
Georgia.
Although
the
race
for
the
state
Court
of
Appeals
is
non-partisan,
...
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