Will Obama campaign for Jim Martin?

One of the big question marks in Georgia’s ongoing U.S. Senate campaign is how much President-elect Barack Obama will get involved.

Democrat Jim Martin desperately wants Obama to come here to boost Martin’s campaign against Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who has already secured a promise from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to visit the state on Chambliss’ behalf.

Obama, however, had not responded to Martin’s overtures as of Sunday. And with the president-elect’s weekend calls for an end to partisan rancor after the Nov. 4 election, his involvement in Georgia’s bitter partisan brawl of a Senate race appeared anything but certain.

“Our campaign has talked to their campaign,” said Martin spokeswoman Kate Hansen. “And that it as far as it has gone. We would be honored to have him. We know his operation is incredibly busy right now.”

Attempts to reach a spokesman for the Obama-Biden transition team were unsuccessful Sunday.

Georgia’s secretary of state is expected to declare a runoff in the high-profile Senate race this week after certifying last Tuesday’s vote. Neither Chambliss nor Martin appear to have gotten a majority in their three-way contest with Libertarian Allen Buckley. Under state law, that means the top two vote-getters will face off in a Dec. 2 runoff.

The race has major national implications because Democrats are approaching a 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. They now have 57 seats, with only races in Georgia, Alaska and Minnesota to be resolved. That will focus a lot of attention on Georgia politics in the next three weeks, and the spotlight will burn a lot brighter if Obama gets involved.

Martin has to walk a fine line with Obama, who last week lost the state to McCain.

An Obama visit could motivate Martin voters, but it also could energize the Republican base for Chambliss. A high-profile visit also could create the appearance that the just-finished presidential election is being played out all over.

Obama, however, could get involved on a smaller scale, helping Martin raise money or appearing in ads for him. Some of Obama’s ground troops in the state are already gearing up to help Martin turn out the vote.

Obama’s direct involvement in the Senate race would require him to risk political capital in a contest that’s anything but certain, some Republicans argue.

“If Martin loses, Obama will be damaged for getting involved in a losing Senate race,” said Eric Tanenblatt. “But he will get a lot of pressure from his supporters down here, who think he should come down.”

Tanenblatt knows a lot about the vagaries of U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia. In the 1992 runoff between incumbent Democrat Wyche Flower and Republican challenger Paul Coverdell, Tanenblatt was Coverdell’s political director.

In that extended race, a just-elected President Bill Clinton, riding a crest of post-election goodwill, came down to campaign for Fowler. Coverdell, however, won the race.