Chambliss: Victory could be a model for GOP

A newly empowered Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss heads back to Washington for six more years after soundly routing a Democratic opponent and gilding his own political reputation in a year when Republicans have little to brag about.

His 14-point runoff victory against Atlanta Democrat Jim Martin in Tuesday’s runoff assured Republicans of 41 seats in the U.S. Senate. That margin in the 100-member chamber is just enough to hold up or force compromises on major elements of the Democratic agenda.

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Jason Getz/jgetz@ajc.com

Sen. Saxby Chambliss greets supporters Tuesday night after his runoff victory.

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“They know they will need Republicans to work with them,” Chambliss said of the senate’s Democratic majority. “There will have to be a bipartisan effort to accomplish any major legislation.”

Democrats had hoped to oust Chambliss and win a 60-vote, filibuster-proof “super majority” in the upper chamber of congress. That would have permitted Democrats to slam-dunk their agenda.

Chambliss’s overtime win gives the Moultrie lawmaker new clout in the Democratic-controlled chamber.

Democrats, for example, need 60 votes to change the make-up of powerful senate committees. Chambliss predicted Republicans will stick together to keep Democrats from “stacking committees in their favor.” He serves on the Agriculture, Armed Services and Intelligence committees.

Chambliss told reporters at this Cobb County campaign headquarters Wednesday morning that he believes his double-digit runoff win can be a “model” for Republicans in the next election cycle.

“This is the first election of 2010,” he said, as movers in the background were already carting out furniture and campaign volunteers prepared to head home.

Chambliss said the GOP must get back to the principles preached by Ronald Reagan if it is to win elections in the future. He said his win in the nationally watched election proves that voters still support the Reagan mantras of “smaller government, fiscal responsibility, more individual rights and lower taxes.”

“That’s what we said on the campaign trail, and it resonated with voters,” Chambliss said.

Chambliss also had help from the Republican National Party and many of the party’s big names, including Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Chambliss said her visit made a big difference.

Palin made a four-city campaign tour for Chambliss in Georgia the day before the election.

“I can’t overstate the impact she had down here,” he said. “When she walks in a room, folks explode. They packed the house everywhere we went.”

One Republican, however, said Chambliss shouldn’t have needed all the national help.

Erick Erickson, a Republican Macon City Councilman and editor of the political two blogs - Peach Pundit and RedState.com — said there should never have been a runoff.

“I think they were overconfident,” Erickson said of Chambliss’s campaign. “A campaign that thinks it’s in a race would not run the amateur campaign they ran in the general. They assumed they were going to win and consequently got into a runoff.”