the 08 Senate race heats up just a wee little bit - sort of
In this day and age it's never too early to start running for election, and it's never been too early to talk about it.
Georgia's senior Senator, Saxby "I Am a Tool" Chambliss is finally up for reelection in 2008 after his vicious, mean-spirited, callous win over Max Cleland back in 2002. He's having a bad week. Not only did he get booed at the state GOP convention this past weekend, but the national GOP may have pushed his biggest threat into a race against him.
There's a ripple effect for everything. When Zell Miller decided not to run for reelection to the Senate back in 2004, a dozen sitting elected officials abandoned their posts to run for the next-higher office. Johnny Isakson, Mac Collins, and Denise Majette gave up safe House seats for Zell's job (Isakson won, fortunately), a bunch of state Senators and Reps and county and municipal officials ran for those House seats, and then a bunch more people ran for those then-empty seats. Well, the same thing could happen here, though on a much smaller scale.
The Macon Telegraph is reporting (found via a link from Peach Pundit) that the National Republican Congressional Committee has convinced former Major General Richard Goddard to run against Democrat Jim Marshall for the GA-8 seat in 2008. Marshall eked out a victory in 2006 despite the then-newly Republican General Assembly's gerrymandering and renumbering of his district (beating the horrid Mac Collins by just 1752 votes - Collins, by the way, never conceded defeat), relying on his conservative record and decorated Vietnam War service. But now he's facing a similarly decorated vet who commanded Robins Air Force Base right there in the heart of the 8th.
There has been talk for quite some time that Marshall would run against Saxby for the Senate, given the photo finish of his last election. Now perhaps facing Goddard will push him into the state-wide race for sure. The Dems have no other clear candidate to challenge The Tool, at least, none that has announced or shown great interest (no, Vernon Jones doesn't count - he raised just $17,900 in the first quarter with only $8626 on hand). Saxby is vulnerable, even in a state as red as Georgia. He never deviates from Bush/Rove and has done nothing to make a name for himself; now he's ticking off his own party faithful with his stand on the immigration bill.
Another interesting note on Goddard's candidacy: Mac Collins hasn't ruled out another run. If he does, he'll be pitted against his party's Anointed One in what would surely be a bruising primary battle.
Georgia's senior Senator, Saxby "I Am a Tool" Chambliss is finally up for reelection in 2008 after his vicious, mean-spirited, callous win over Max Cleland back in 2002. He's having a bad week. Not only did he get booed at the state GOP convention this past weekend, but the national GOP may have pushed his biggest threat into a race against him.
There's a ripple effect for everything. When Zell Miller decided not to run for reelection to the Senate back in 2004, a dozen sitting elected officials abandoned their posts to run for the next-higher office. Johnny Isakson, Mac Collins, and Denise Majette gave up safe House seats for Zell's job (Isakson won, fortunately), a bunch of state Senators and Reps and county and municipal officials ran for those House seats, and then a bunch more people ran for those then-empty seats. Well, the same thing could happen here, though on a much smaller scale.
The Macon Telegraph is reporting (found via a link from Peach Pundit) that the National Republican Congressional Committee has convinced former Major General Richard Goddard to run against Democrat Jim Marshall for the GA-8 seat in 2008. Marshall eked out a victory in 2006 despite the then-newly Republican General Assembly's gerrymandering and renumbering of his district (beating the horrid Mac Collins by just 1752 votes - Collins, by the way, never conceded defeat), relying on his conservative record and decorated Vietnam War service. But now he's facing a similarly decorated vet who commanded Robins Air Force Base right there in the heart of the 8th.
There has been talk for quite some time that Marshall would run against Saxby for the Senate, given the photo finish of his last election. Now perhaps facing Goddard will push him into the state-wide race for sure. The Dems have no other clear candidate to challenge The Tool, at least, none that has announced or shown great interest (no, Vernon Jones doesn't count - he raised just $17,900 in the first quarter with only $8626 on hand). Saxby is vulnerable, even in a state as red as Georgia. He never deviates from Bush/Rove and has done nothing to make a name for himself; now he's ticking off his own party faithful with his stand on the immigration bill.
Another interesting note on Goddard's candidacy: Mac Collins hasn't ruled out another run. If he does, he'll be pitted against his party's Anointed One in what would surely be a bruising primary battle.