Republican incumbent Senator Saxby Chamblis and Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin and at the GPBTV pre-election debate. (Dave Bender/file)
Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin were in full campaign mode this weekend, trying to coax enough votes to prevail in a Dec. 2 runoff election.
Republican incumbent Senator Saxby Chamblis talking with reporters at a press conference held at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. (Dave Bender/file)
Chambliss’ camp is preparing for a visit from former GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Martin is meeting with Cobb County Democrats and planned to visit a party phone bank operation in Decatur.
Democratic Senate race candidate Jim Martin, talking to reporters at a press conference in downtown Atlanta. (Dave Bender/file)
With less than four weeks until they face voters again, neither campaign was waiting for Secretary of State Karen Handel to make it official when she certifies election results next week.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting throughout Georgia, neither Chambliss nor Martin accumulated enough ballots to pull above the needed 50 percent plus one of the vote. The Moultrie Republican is just short, with 49.8 percent. Martin, a former state lawmaker from Atlanta, has 46.8 percent. The race also included Libertarian Allen Buckley, who drew 3.4 percent.
Military and overseas ballots were among the last to be tallied by county officials. To be counted, they had to arrive by Friday.
The state’s most populous county had been set to certify its results Saturday. But a spokesman for Fulton County’s Board of Elections said problems with a faulty memory card delayed the effort.
Voters register to cast their ballot in advance voting at the Fulton Co. Government Center polling station in downtown Atlanta. (Dave Bender)
Fulton County Board of Elections spokesman Mark Henderson said the problem had been resolved but officials decided to audit the process before making the elections results official. The certification is now expected to take place Sunday or Monday, Henderson said.
Handel’s office has criticized Fulton County for being slow to count thousands of absentee ballots and her office is investigating. Henderson said county workers were exhausted after a marathon Election Day and were sent home for a few hours to rest.
The expected Chambliss-Martin contest is already drawing a national spotlight to Georgia.
The race is one of three unresolved Senate contests nationwide, along with Minnesota and Alaska. All involve Republican incumbents. If Democrats capture all three, it would give them a 60-seat majority in the Senate, a margin needed to block Republican filibusters.
Chambliss’ campaign said they’ve also been in touch with McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, about a possible Georgia visit.
McCain carried Georgia on Election Day by 52 percent to President-elect Barack Obama’s 47 percent.
Nonetheless, Martin has asked Obama to help out, but no word yet on whether he’ll stump for Martin.
Then President-elect Bill Clinton came to Georgia to campaign for Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler in his 1992 runoff race. But even with the high-profile help, Fowler went on to lose to Republican Paul Coverdell in what was the last U.S. Senate runoff in Georgia.
Martin and Chambliss arguing a point during the GPBTV pre-election debate. At bottom is Libertarian candidate Allan Buckley. (Dave Bender/file)
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