The
five
Democrats
competing
for
the
chance
to
unseat
first-term
Sen.
Saxby
Chambliss
(R-Ga.)
have
been
thoroughly
vetted
on
a
number
of
topics,
but
have
faced
few
questions
on
gay
and
transgender
issues.
Chambliss,
who
has
scored
a
zero
on
the
Human
Rights
Campaign's
Congressional
scorecard
on
gay
issues
twice
since
2002
(reports
are
issued
every
two
years),
is
widely
outperforming
all
five
Democrats.
A
series
of
Rasmussen
Reports
polls
of
500
likely
voters
in
Georgia
from
March
to
the
end
of
June
have
shown
steady
support
for
Chambliss.
The
incumbent
has
never
fallen
below
50
percent,
while
none
of
the
Democrats
challenging
him
have
broken
40
percent.
Dr.
Charles
Bullock,
chair
of
the
Richard
Russell
Library
for
Political
Research
at
UGA,
said
it's
really
a
two-man
race
for
the
Democratic
Senate
nomination
on
the
July
15
ballot.
“There
are
two
candidates
that
have
some
serious
prospects:
one
of
them
would
be
Vernon
Jones
and
the
other
would
be
Jim
Martin,”
Bullock
said.
With
Barack
Obama
energizing
African-American
voters,
many
pundits
expect
higher
than
average
turnout,
which
should
favor
Jones,
currently
CEO
of
DeKalb
County.
Bullock
said
the
other
four
candidates
in
the
race
are
running
in
the
hopes
of
getting
into
a
runoff
with
Jones,
who
might
take
the
election
July
15.
“I
would
expect
that
Vernon
would
do
well
among
black
voters
and
if
there
is
high
enough
turn
out,
I
would
think
there
might
not
be
a
runoff,”
Bullock
said.
Jones
has
led
in
a
series
of
polls,
but
former
WSB
TV
reporter
Dale
Cardwell
pulled
within
the
margin
of
error
in
a
Strategic
Vision
poll
conducted
June
27-28.
Martin,
who
Rasmussen
has
at
39
percent
against
Chambliss,
is
also
gaining
ground
in
primary
polls,
as
is
Rand
Knight,
who
recently
secured
endorsements
from
labor
and
education
unions.
Bullock
said
Cardwell,
Knight
and
Josh
Lanier
have
not
received
enough
exposure
to
be
viable
candidates
in
the
July
15
election.
“They're
putting
out
signs
and
going
to
the
debates,
but
no
one
watches
the
debates,”
Bullock
said.
“They
are
simply
not
well
known
quantities.
They
don't
have
ads
on
televisions;
they
will
probably
get
a
few
percentage
points.”
At
a
recent
nearly
hour-long
debate
hosted
by
WAGA-Fox
5
TV,
the
candidates
were
limited
to
a
“yes”
or
“no”
answer
when
asked
if
they
supported
gay
marriage.
Knight
and
Lanier
both
said
yes;
Jones,
Martin
and
Cardwell
all
said
no.
Four
of
the
five
candidates
recently
gave
interviews
to
Southern
Voice.
Repeated
attempts
to
reach
Jones
or
his
press
secretary
were
unsuccessful.
He
did
give
an
interview
to
Southern
Voice
shortly
after
he
announced
his
campaign
in
August
2007,
which
is
the
basis
for
his
responses
in
this
article.
Dale
Cardwell
Dale
Caldwell
(Photo
by
Matt
Schafer)
Age:
45
Residence:
Atlanta
Career:
Reporter/media
consultant
Family:
Married,
two
children
Background:
Former
investigative
reporter
for
WSB
TV
who
said
he
became
fed
up
with
system
and
announced
his
campaign
run
in
June
2007.
On
the
Employment
Non-Discrimination
Act
(ENDA):
“It's
never
been
acceptable
to
terminate
someone
because
of
their
sexual
orientation,”
he
said.
Cardwell
said
he
would
not
support
eliminating
gender
identity
from
ENDA,
but
would
support
a
partial
bill
that
included
only
sexual
orientation.
“I
would
probably
have
to
support
a
health
care
bill
that
extended
health
care
benefits
to
all
children,
in
much
the
same
way
I
would
have
to
support
a
[ENDA]
bill
that
extended
protection
to
everyone
but
transgender
[people],
but
I
think
it's
something
that
philosophically
should
be
passed,
even
if
it's
separate
legislation.”
On
gay
marriage:
Cardwell
supports
a
separate
institution
for
gay
couples,
but
not
marriage.
“The
word
marriage,
and
the
institution
of
marriage,
was
never
created
to
join
two
people
of
the
same
sex,”
he
said.
“I
have
no
problem
with
gay
couples
joining
together
in
a
manner
that
works
for
them
under
the
rules
of
God
and
rules
of
man
with
100
percent
protection
under
the
constitution.”
Supports
domestic
partnership
for
federal
workers.
On
‘Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell’
(DADT):
“I
agree
with
Sam
Nunn
that
it
is
a
time
reexamine
that
policy.
…
I
believe
we
have
to
have
a
discussion
with
the
generals
on
how
to
best
achieve
equal
protection
under
the
law.”
On
expanding
federal
hate
crimes
laws:
Supports
including
gender
identity
and
sexual
orientation
in
federal
hate
crime
...
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