Bulloch County Probate Judge Lee DeLoach doesn’t expect a high turnout today for the general election runoff — only about 10 to 15 percent, he said. “It depends on the weather.”
The most hotly competitive race is that for the senate between Republican incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin. Advertisements have run wild with accusations and mudslinging on both sides in efforts to convince voters.
But there are two other runoff election races: Lauren W. “Bubba” McDonald Jr., Republican, faces off against Democrat Jim Powell in the run for Northern District 4 Public Service Commissioner, and Sara Doyle and Mike Sheffield are challenging each other for the nonpartisan Appeals Court Judge seat.
“It’s an important election,” DeLoach said Monday. “I don’t see a lot of people getting back to the polls after the presidential election, but I think folks perceive it as an important election.”
Chambliss is vying to keep his seat as a defense against a Democratic president-elect.
“Let’s face it, the world is watching Georgia,’’ said the 65-year-old freshman senator at a rally in north Georgia on the eve of Thanksgiving. ‘‘We have the opportunity to make sure (President-elect Barack) Obama doesn’t move us far, far to the left.’’
But Martin is giving Chambliss a run for his money, surprising those who have said he is too nice to win.
‘‘I’m nice, but I am also tough,’’ Martin said during a recent bus tour of middle Georgia. ‘‘I’ve proven that I can go toe-to-toe with Saxby.’’
If he upsets Chambliss, Martin could help the Democrats win a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate giving President-elect Barack Obama a stronger hand in moving his agenda. Democrats are just two votes short of the 60 votes needed and Georgia is one of two undecided contests.
Chambliss, from Moultrie, has 25 years experience as a lawyer with a specialty in agricultural law. He served on the House of representatives from 1994-2002; and in the U.S. Senate since 2002. He chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2005-2007.
Martin, from Atlanta, is a Vietnam veteran and has served as assistant legislative counsel to the Georgia legislature since 1972.
He was a member of the Georgia House of representatives from 1983-2001 and served as chairman of the House Judiciary committee. He was appointed by Gov. Roy Barnes in 2001 as commissioner of the Department of Human Resources and resigned in 2003. In 2006, he was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.
The most hotly competitive race is that for the senate between Republican incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Democratic challenger Jim Martin. Advertisements have run wild with accusations and mudslinging on both sides in efforts to convince voters.
But there are two other runoff election races: Lauren W. “Bubba” McDonald Jr., Republican, faces off against Democrat Jim Powell in the run for Northern District 4 Public Service Commissioner, and Sara Doyle and Mike Sheffield are challenging each other for the nonpartisan Appeals Court Judge seat.
“It’s an important election,” DeLoach said Monday. “I don’t see a lot of people getting back to the polls after the presidential election, but I think folks perceive it as an important election.”
Chambliss is vying to keep his seat as a defense against a Democratic president-elect.
“Let’s face it, the world is watching Georgia,’’ said the 65-year-old freshman senator at a rally in north Georgia on the eve of Thanksgiving. ‘‘We have the opportunity to make sure (President-elect Barack) Obama doesn’t move us far, far to the left.’’
But Martin is giving Chambliss a run for his money, surprising those who have said he is too nice to win.
‘‘I’m nice, but I am also tough,’’ Martin said during a recent bus tour of middle Georgia. ‘‘I’ve proven that I can go toe-to-toe with Saxby.’’
If he upsets Chambliss, Martin could help the Democrats win a filibuster-proof 60 seats in the Senate giving President-elect Barack Obama a stronger hand in moving his agenda. Democrats are just two votes short of the 60 votes needed and Georgia is one of two undecided contests.
Chambliss, from Moultrie, has 25 years experience as a lawyer with a specialty in agricultural law. He served on the House of representatives from 1994-2002; and in the U.S. Senate since 2002. He chaired the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2005-2007.
Martin, from Atlanta, is a Vietnam veteran and has served as assistant legislative counsel to the Georgia legislature since 1972.
He was a member of the Georgia House of representatives from 1983-2001 and served as chairman of the House Judiciary committee. He was appointed by Gov. Roy Barnes in 2001 as commissioner of the Department of Human Resources and resigned in 2003. In 2006, he was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.