Georgia Dem's new ad features Obama

Jim Martin, who's facing incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss in a runoff, uses his spot to tie himself to the president-elect.

Published November 17, 2008 6:00PM (EST)

Here's an interesting question to ponder -- in a state as red as Georgia, can a Democrat defeat a sitting Republican senator by attacking said incumbent for not supporting Barack Obama's economic proposals?

Even a year ago, the idea that such a gambit might work would have seemed a little crazy. Even just this spring, Republicans running for Congress were using Obama as a club to bash their opponents. But that strategy failed.

Plus, though Obama ultimately lost Georgia to John McCain, he fared much better than John Kerry did in 2004. Kerry lost the state to George W. Bush 58-41; Obama only lost it 52-47. And in the process, he caused a surge in African-American voter turnout, bumping their share of the electorate up 5 percentage points from where it was in the last presidential election. Those voters are crucial to Democratic challenger Jim Martin's hopes as he faces a runoff against Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

And so we find ourselves with Martin's latest ad, in which he hits Chambliss on the economy and ties himself directly to Obama and his economic plan. You can watch it below.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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2008 Elections Saxby Chambliss R-ga.