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DEL.ICIO.USSaxby Chambliss as a sign of things to come
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Over at the University of Virginia, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball today cites Georgia’s Senate runoff as an important harbinger of the 2010 midterm elections.
Writes Rhodes Cook:
Not only did the GOP incumbent [Saxby Chambliss] expand a 3 percentage point lead over Democrat Jim Martin in the November general election balloting into a 15-point blowout in the early December runoff, but he did so with what was a midterm election-sized turnout.
While nearly 4 million Georgians cast ballots in the presidential voting, only 2,137,956 participated in the Senate runoff. That is nearly identical to the number who cast ballots in the state’s 2006 gubernatorial election (2,122,258)—a race that was won handily by Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue. Voter turnout in 2010 will undoubtedly be much closer to these lower numbers than the higher presidential turnout figure.
By not dipping into the Georgia race, President Barack Obama has kept everyone guessing about his impact as an incumbent on downballot races, says Cook:
The basic question now is what role Obama will choose to play in the 2010 midterm election. He has quickly assumed the part of commander in chief. Left unanswered is how he will wear his party hat, or more specifically his role as “Democrat in chief.”
It may not fit naturally with his bipartisan instincts. And to be sure, how well the Democrats fare in 2010 will in part be determined by how successful Obama and his Democratic congressional colleagues fare at the work of governance.
Comments
By RomeRoadWarrior
January 29, 2009 11:55 AM | Link to this
As long as GOP Candidates hire good folks like Derrick Dickie and Justin Tomzak we should be fine.
High prices consultants, running poor quality ads while pocketing hundreds of thousands in fees and ignoring the Grassroots will result in certain disaster in 2010.
We must learn from our mistakes.