Democrats pump money into Georgia Senate race

Democrats at the national level have begun pumping money into Georgia’s U.S. Senate race, once thought to be a sure-bet for Republicans but now a real horse race, according to recent polls.

By late Tuesday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had bought about $500,000 worth of advertising time on at least five metro

Atlanta television stations for spots to support Democratic senate candidate Jim Martin in his uphill battle against incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Moultrie. The spots begin running today.

Recent polls have shown a tightening race between Chambliss and Martin, an Atlanta lawyer and former state lawmaker.

Chambliss has a 4-to-1 fund-raising advantage over Martin, meaning the Republican can buy a lot more advertsing time in the final three weeks of the campaign. The injection from the national Democratic committee could help Martin bridge that gap.

“They see what we see – that Saxby Chambliss is vulnerable because he’s done a bad job for Georgia,” said Martin spokesman Ellery Gould.

Chambliss’ campaign said the money shows Martin is being controlled by liberal lawmakers in Washington.

“It is not surprising that they would try to come in here and buy this election for him,”said Chambliss spokeswoman Michelle Grasso.

A spokesman for the DSCC, Matthew Miller, declined comment on the cash infusion.

As of late Tuesday afternoon, Atlanta’s five network affiliates: WSB, WXIA, WAGA and WGCL and WATL had not received copies of the ad, which is slated to run Wednesday morning. The ad will run largely during news broadcasts and in prime time, during such popular programs as “Dancing with the Stars,” “House” and NFL Sunday pre-game show.

The size of DSCC order is substantial. At $514,950, it is much larger than any weekly TV ad buy made by Martin since of the start of his campaign. The ad is scheduled to run 369 times by next week.

Martin and Chambliss and Libertarian Allen Buckley will face each other in the Nov. 4 election.