By MARY GILBERT
As the Democrats' battle for 60 Senate seats continues, many are wondering how far President-elect Barack Obama is willing to go to help Georgia candidate Jim Martin (subscription) in his runoff match against Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss (subscription). While having a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate would certainly help Obama push his agenda through on Capitol Hill, throwing his weight behind a candidate who faces an uphill battle in a runoff election represents a huge risk to Obama's freshly minted political capital.
John McCain, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney have all turned up in the Peach State to rally behind Chambliss; Bill Clinton stumped for Martin this week, with Al Gore soon to follow. But for now, the Obama team has not committed to making a visit, opting instead to release a radio ad on Thursday in which the president-elect urges voters to come out and "head to the polls just one more time this year."
Obama begins the ad by thanking listeners for their support on Nov. 4 and goes on to endorse Martin as someone who will "do everything he can in the Senate to help me change Washington and get America moving again."
The Obama team has also sent staffers to the state and made its field offices available for Martin's use.
National Journal's Kirk Victor draws a parallel (subscription) between the Martin-Chambliss race and the 1992 Georgia Senate runoff between Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler and Republican Paul Coverdell, pointing out that then-President-elect Clinton took a big political hit for backing Fowler in a losing fight. Coverdell's victory represented a turning of the tide for Republicans, presaging their 1994 midterm election comeback.
Obama would certainly be wise to avoid a similar symbolic defeat before he even takes office on Jan. 20.
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