Former
state
Rep.
Jim
Martin,
a
prominent
gay
rights
ally,
hopes
to
unseat
Sen.
Saxby
Chambliss
for
one
of
Georgia’s
two
seats
in
the
U.S.
Senate.
But
first
he’s
got
to
win
a
crowded
Democratic
primary
against
DeKalb
County
CEO
Vernon
Jones,
teacher
Maggie
Martinez,
ecologist
Rand
Knight,
businessman
Josh
Lanier
and
former
television
reporter
Dale
Cardwell.
Martin
represented
Midtown
in
the
state
House
for
18
years
before
he
was
appointed
by
then-Gov.
Roy
Barnes,
a
fellow
Democrat,
as
commissioner
of
the
Georgia
Department
of
Human
Resources
in
2001.
He
ran
for
lieutenant
governor
in
2006,
but
lost
to
Casey
Cagle
54.1
percent
to
42.3
percent.
On
the
record
supporting
civil
unions
and
gay
adoption,
Martin
represents
the
most
gay-friendly
candidate
for
the
seat,
according
to
local
activists.
“He
was
chairman
of
the
House
Judiciary
Committee
and
he
was
very
effective
at
derailing
hateful
legislation
that
was
just
designed
to
damage
our
community,”
said
Allen
Thornell,
former
executive
director
of
Georgia
Equality
and
now
one
of
its
board
chairs.
Martin’s
appointment
as
DHR
commissioner
drew
praise
from
HIV
activists
and
gay
organizations
because
of
his
record
as
a
state
legislator,
including
strong
support
for
HIV
funding
and
gay-inclusive
hate
crimes
and
civil
rights
bills.
He
resigned
the
DHR
post
in
2003.
Still
in
its
infancy,
the
Martin
campaign
is
working
hard
to
raise
money
and
endorsements
in
order
to
be
seen
as
a
serious
contender
in
a
crowded
field
of
Democratic
hopefuls.
Martin
was
not
available
for
comment.
“Right
now
we’re
pressed
to
get
a
lot
of
things
done,”
interim
Martin
spokesman
Austin
Stephenson
said.
Rumors
surrounded
Martin’s
potential
entry
for
months,
before
he
answered
those
questions
without
actually
saying
a
word
himself.
After
months
of
speculation,
he
created
a
website
that
on
March
19
simply
said,
“Today,
I
announced
my
candidacy
for
U.S.
Senate.
Please
contribute
to
help
us
build
the
site!”
Since
the
online
announcement,
information
about
Martin’s
new
campaign
has
been
hard
to
come
by.
As
of
press
time
he
had
yet
to
make
a
public
appearance
or
put
forward
a
platform
on
federal
matters.
Gay
activists
like
Jason
Cecil,
treasurer
of
the
Stonewall
Democrats,
said
gay
voters
will
likely
support
Martin.
“The
membership
of
Stonewall
would
fall
pretty
heavily
for
Jim
Martin.
At
least
in
Democratic
circles
there
is
a
lot
of
good
will,”
he
said.
“He’s
always
been
good
on
our
issues;
he’s
been
very
fair
minded.”
In
a
press
release
to
potential
supporters,
Martin
decried
Chambliss’
support
of
the
Iraq
war
and
of
President
George
W.
Bush
and
Vice
President
Dick
Cheney.
“We
need
a
senator
in
Washington
who
answers
to
Georgians
and
not
to
George
Bush
and
Dick
Cheney
92
percent
of
the
time,”
Martin
said.
“Senator
Chambliss’s
uncritical
advocacy
of
the
Iraq
war
has
been
matched
only
by
his
disregard
for
the
soldiers
fighting
it
and
their
families.”
Chambliss
was
elected
to
the
Senate
in
2002
and
previously
served
in
the
U.S.
House.
During
his
run
for
lieutenant
governor,
Martin
did
not
support
gay
marriage,
but
favored
civil
unions.
The
other
two
apparent
frontrunners
in
the
Democratic
primary
for
the
U.S.
Senate
seat,
Jones
and
Cardwell,
have
said
no
to
gay
marriage
but
support
domestic
partner
benefits
for
federal
employees.
Martin
is
considered
a
frontrunner
because
he
is
the
only
candidate
who
has
run
a
statewide
campaign
before,
when
he
lost
his
bid
for
lieutenant
governor
to
Cagle.
When
Martin
lost
to
Cagle,
he
carried
65,000
more
votes
than
Democratic
gubernatorial
candidate
Mark
Taylor
did
in
losing
to
Gov.
Sonny
Perdue,
57.9
percent
to
38.2
percent,
in
the
same
election.
Whoever
wins
the
July
15
primary,
or
the
likely
Aug.
5
runoff,
will
face
an
uphill
climb
against
Chambliss.
The
day
after
Martin
announced
his
campaign,
Rasmussen
Reports
polled
500
Georgians
asking
who
they
would
vote
for
against
Chambliss
out
of
the
top
three
Democratic
challengers.
Chambliss
held
significant
margins
against
all
three
with
Chambliss
ahead
of
Martin
51
percent
to
33
percent.
Jones
garnered
30
percent
against
Chambliss’
56
percent.
Cardwell
did
the
best
against
Chambliss
at
36
percent
to
51
percent.
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