Obama lends staff to help Martin

An appearance in Georgia by President-elect Barack Obama on behalf of Jim Martin appears unlikely, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t making his presence felt in Martin’s Dec. 2 runoff against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Obama is keeping 25 of his Georgia field offices open for Martin, leaving most of his in-state paid staff here and importing about 100 field operatives from Southern states to help Martin, according to Matt Canter, a spokesman for Martin’s campaign.

Other veterans of completed campaigns are also on their way or are already here, such as Canter himself, who was brought in to help with Martin’s press staff. Canter most recently helped Democrat Jeff Merkley defeat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith last week in Oregon.

Chambliss’ campaign, meanwhile, confirmed that U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will campaign for Chambliss in Cobb County on Thursday. McCain will appear at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on at 4:30 p.m. as part of a Chambliss rally.

Speculation is rampant that McCain’s vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, also will turn out for the incumbent, but a Palin visit had not been confirmed on Tuesday. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who carried Georgia in the Republican presidential primary, will campaign for Chambliss on Sunday.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.), head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee will have a 2:30 p.m. news conference with Chambliss at Chambliss’ campaign headquarters on Galleria Parkway.

Martin’s campaign is playing down the significance of such high-profile visits. Martin has asked Obama to come to Georgia for his campaign, but the president-elect had not scheduled a visit as of Wednesday.

Canter said Chambliss’ campaign “seems very obsessed with surrogates and 2010 and 2012 national politics. That’s not our campaign’s focus at all.”

Martin, he said, wants voters to focus on “who’s going to work with the next president.”

Obama’s contribution, Canter said, is aimed at providing “a whole lot of support on the ground. But we don’t expect a whole host of celebrities to pour into this state.”

Meanwhile, Martin is finding intense interest from national media in his near upset bid against Chambliss. He was interviewed live on MSNBC on Tuesday afternoon, and Canter said The New York Times, CNN and National Public Radio shadowed Martin as he greeted veterans and supporters at a Veterans Day parade in Atlanta.