Senate runoff fast and furious

Georgia’s nationally watched U.S. Senate runoff bolted out of the starting gate Monday, with Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss telling state GOP leaders that the 2010 election begins with his Dec. 2 battle against Democrat Jim Martin.

“I don’t have to tell you what will happen in our state if we don’t prevail,” Chambliss told the Republican caucus of the state House of Representatives, which assembled to elect a speaker.

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Martin quickly disputed the assertion and accused Chambliss of playing partisan politics in an attempt to get voters to the polls in three weeks.

“It mystifies me for them to be talking about partisan politics in a race two years from now,” Martin said in a telephone interview.

“I can’t image motivating people based on an election in 2010.”

Chambliss’ campaign on Monday confirmed that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will come to Cobb County on Thursday to stump for Chambliss. Former

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will also come to Georgia for Chambliss — possibly this Sunday — and an invitation has been extended to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has not confirmed.

Martin continued to tie himself to President-elect Barack Obama in new television ads. His campaign has invited Obama to come to the state to campaign for the Atlanta attorney and former state lawmaker. Martin’s campaign is also using Obama’s ground troops in the runoff to get out the vote.

Obama’s former campaign workers are now assisting Martin in his 25 offices across the state, Martin said. Those ground troops, he said, are more important than big-name politicians for getting voters back to the polls. Some prominent Democrats have volunteered to come down for his campaign, Martin said, without offering specifics.

“We’ve had a lot of offers,” he said. “But this race is really about Georgians and a message that appeals to Georgians.”

Chambliss warned state GOP lawmakers that giving Democrats continued momentum going into the governor’s race two years from now could erode gains Republicans have made in Georgia, where they control the governor’s office and both chambers of the Legislature. He said his campaign opened 10 field offices across the state Monday in an effort to get campaign-weary voters to return to the polls.

Republicans and Democrats have begun a full-fledged effort to get out the vote for the Senate runoff, even though the post-election race will not be official until the secretary of state certifies the election. Neither Chambliss nor Martin got a majority of votes Nov. 4 in their race with Libertarian Allen Buckley. Under state law, the two top vote-getters will have to duke it out in a Dec. 2 runoff.

Martin and Chambliss are locked in a tight race with national implications. Democrats picked up six Senate seats Nov. 4 and now have 57 votes in the upper chamber, where they need 60 for a filibuster-proof “super-majority.”

Democrats want Chambliss’ seat to get to that majority. Republicans have vowed to protect it at any cost, setting the state for a marathon post-election battle.