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Palin Campaigning In Georgia For Senate Runoff
ATLANTA — Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss enlisted Sarah Palin to rally conservatives while Democratic challenger Jim Martin pushed to activate black voters, as they grappled for advantage in a Tuesday runoff that will shape Democrats' hold on power in Washington.
Palin, the Alaska governor who was John McCain's vice presidential running mate, attended private fundraisers Sunday night and was set to speak at rallies across the state Monday. McCain carried Georgia with 52 percent of the vote on Nov. 4.
Martin planned to campaign with prominent Georgia Democrats, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis, as he sought to rekindle the strong showing by African American voters in the general election that President-elect Barack Obama sparked.
Neither Chambliss nor Martin crossed the 50 percent threshold in the general election. That race included a libertarian, Allen Buckley, who drew 3.4 percent. Almost one month after the vote, there has been no end to the mudslinging, with fresh attack ads flooding the airwaves through Thanksgiving.
This week's runoff is critical because Senate Democrats are just two votes shy of the 60 needed to block GOP filibusters. Georgia is one of two unresolved contests. The other is in Minnesota, where a recount is under way in the race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.
In a national broadcast appearance Sunday, Chambliss stuck to his campaign message: He is a needed firewall to a Democratic agenda moving unchecked in Washington.
"I don't know that we will be able to stop all of it, but Georgians are going to be able to count on my vote to do what's right for them," Chambliss said on "Fox News Sunday." He said the race would not be a referendum on Obama.
The Chambliss campaign is hoping Palin energizes the conservative base in a race that will hinge on turnout.
"Runoffs always fall off from a general election and it's about getting our people back to the polls," Chambliss said.
It will be Palin's first return to the campaign trail since her failed vice presidential bid. She is widely rumored to be interested in a run for president in 2012.
Palin is just the latest political luminary to enter the fray in Georgia's heated runoff contest. It has also drawn McCain and GOP rivals Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, as well as Democrats Al Gore and former President Bill Clinton.
Martin, in stops Sunday in Columbus and Norcross, accused Chambliss of ignoring the needs of the middle class and veterans, both suffering in the faltering economy. The Vietnam veteran received a boost from Claudia Kennedy, the Army's first female three-star general.
Martin has criticized Chambliss for remarks he made in July where he said, "We may not be in a recession. I don't know what that term means."
His campaign also has pointed to a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting Chambliss missed in the run-up to the Iraq war because he was in Florida at a fundraiser.
"We feel great about our campaign," Martin said in a telephone interview. "People want someone to go to Washington who is an independent voice but who will also work with our president."
Martin planned to cap election eve campaigning with a Capitol rally with Atlanta rapper Ludacris.
The Martin camp is working to get black voters back to the polls. Black turnout in Georgia topped 30 percent in the general election with Obama on the ticket. It's been only 23 percent in early voting in for the Senate runoff.
Martin had invited Obama to campaign with him. The president-elect recorded a radio ad and automated phone calls for Martin but never made it to Georgia. Some 100 Obama field operatives flocked to the state to work on grassroots efforts to get voters back to the polls.
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SHANNON McCAFFREY | November 30, 2008 09:20 PM EST |
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