AN ALL-OUT FIGHT: Republican incumbent: Chambliss goes on road to make sure supporters turn out to vote.

It’s a cold, wet day in the Republican heartland just south of Atlanta, and Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and his troops are trying to rally the faithful in the face of withering economic headwinds and new polls that show his race with Democrat Jim Martin too close to call.

U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Grantville), Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and Republican National Committeeman Alec Poitevint have joined Chambliss’ statewide 80-county bus tour this morning through Fayette and Coweta counties. They have one thing on their mind —- getting GOP voters to the polls in large numbers to counter a Democratic groundswell.

“We know that the people turning out [to vote] early are not voting for Saxby Chambliss and John McCain,” Chambliss tells about 60 supporters who meet the bus tour in downtown Newnan. “If we don’t turn out, it could be a sad night on Nov. 4.”

What should have been a rout has suddenly turned into a horse race for the job Chambliss won as an underdog six years ago from former Democratic U.S. Sen. Max Cleland. Polls show Chambliss, who has a huge cash advantage over Martin, leading by as few as two points. Some political Web sites rate the race a toss-up.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has been pouring money into the state for TV ads attacking Chambliss on the so-called “fair tax” and the $700 billion financial rescue package.

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, meanwhile, is expected to swell the numbers of Democratic voters in Georgia. Democrats are on the march, and Republicans have begun to play defense.

Chambliss’ entourage offers red meat for the GOP supporters who meet the bus tour on this day.

“You ought to have the right to have the American Dream,” Poitevint tells the crowd in Fayetteville. “And Barack Obama wants to make sure you don’t.”

Cagle follows with a softer pitch.

“There is no individual I am more confident in than Saxby Chambliss,” Cagle said. “I have seen his character tested, and he has never wavered.”

Cagle then alludes to his three sons and what he believes this election means for their future.

“It’s all about the children,” he said.

There is some good news for Chambliss on the tour. Despite the horrible weather, the GOP faithful pack rooms at prenoon stops in Fayetteville, Peachtree City and Newnan.

At Peachtree City, Westmoreland warns about 100 people about the consequences of a Democratic landslide.

Democrats want a 60-vote, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate to advance their agenda, Westmoreland said, as he outlines the consequences for conservatives.

“We’re going to be on a fast freight train going downhill with no brakes,” Westmoreland tells the crowd.

The congressman encourages each person in the audience to call 10 people and have those 10 people call 10 people.

“Remember what Winston Churchill said, ‘Never, never, never give up,’ ” Westmoreland said.

One of those listening is Kathryn Nevin, an Atlanta music teacher who fears a Democratic landslide on Tuesday would move the country too far to the left.

“I’m calling my friends and trying to make sure they all vote,” Nevin said after the Peachtree City stop. “I’m at 27 and will try to call 50. I’m checking them off every day.”

Brant Frost IV, a Coweta County mortgage banker, met the bus tour in Newnan with his son.

“There’s a lot of passion and energy here,” Frost said.

“This is a bastion of Georgia values and people here feel an onslaught of liberalism from Obama and Martin. We see Saxby as our champion to guard against that,” he said.

SAXBY CHAMBLISS

> Age: 64

> Family: Married with two grown children and two grandchildren.

> Residence: Moultrie

> Political background: U.S. House of Representatives, 1994-2002. First elected to the U.S. Senate, 2002.

> Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Georgia, 1966; law degree, University of Tennessee, 1968.

> Accomplishments: Sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Rules Committee; is the ranking Republican member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Chambliss has written legislation calling for the creation of a four-star military command for intelligence within the Department of Defense, which would ensure U.S. troops on the ground and the new director of national intelligence have access to the most timely and accurate intelligence.

Chambliss’ role as the chairman of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security made him one of the leading congressional experts on these issues. During his four terms in the House, Chambliss was instrumental in drafting major farm bills and worked to reform the federal crop insurance program through his chairmanship of the Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.

> Controversies: Chambliss backed the $700 billion financial rescue package, which has landed him in hot water with some conservatives and has provided an opening for attack ads from the Martin campaign. He also backed a renewal of extensive farm subsidies, in a rare break with President Bush.

In his 2002 campaign, Chambliss’ campaign ran a television ad that questioned triple-amputee Vietnam veteran and then-U.S. Sen. Max Cleland’s commitment to homeland security. Though it played a minor role in that race, the ad has become a rallying cry for Democrats who want Chambliss replaced.

> His game plan for victory: Paint Martin as “too liberal” for Georgia and hammer away at Martin’s record at the state Department of Human Resources. Rally the GOP faithful in the north metro Atlanta counties and rural and suburban Georgia to counter what is expected to be a massive Democratic turnout.

AJC.COM

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