Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) won a second term in a runoff election against Jim Martin in a highly-anticipated battle on Tuesday.
The victory for the Republican party stifled a full-fledged majority by the Democratic party in the Senate. If Martin would have won, the Democrats would have had a 60-40 stake in the U.S. Senate, which would have given President-elect Barack Obama a much stronger influence on furthering his agenda.
Chambliss won the Georgia Senate seat with 57% of the votes, while Martin received 43%. The win was a rare bright spot for the Republicans, who lost the White House, as well as several Senate and House of Representatives seats in the 2008 election.
Ironically, Chambliss and Martin were fraternity brothers at the University of Georgia. Both were members of the Sigma Chi fraternity in the early 1960s.
Due to the huge importance of this Senate seat, several high-profile polticians came in to campaign on behalf of their respective political parties. Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore both stumped for Martin.
GOP nominee John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee hit the stump for Chambliss.
In addition to these very high profile political leaders many other organizations did their part to encourage people to get out and vote in this very important runoff. Senator Chambliss alluded to this when he said, “We sincerely thank the American Seniors Association for their work on behalf of Georgia seniors. I further want to thank AmericanSeniors.org for encouraging folks to get out and vote in this vital run-off. Their conservative stance is needed more than ever during these trying times.”
Minnesota now remains the only unresolved Senate contest in the country. The state is currently undergoing a recount.
