Former state Rep. Jim Martin, a prominent gay rights ally, hopes to unseat Sen. Saxby Chambliss for one of Georgia’s two seats in the U.S. Senate. But first he’s got to win a crowded Democratic primary against DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, teacher Maggie Martinez, ecologist Rand Knight, businessman Josh Lanier and former television reporter Dale Cardwell.
Martin represented Midtown in the state House for 18 years before he was appointed by then-Gov. Roy Barnes, a fellow Democrat, as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources in 2001. He ran for lieutenant governor in 2006, but lost to Casey Cagle 54.1 percent to 42.3 percent.
On the record supporting civil unions and gay adoption, Martin represents the most gay-friendly candidate for the seat, according to local activists.
“He was chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and he was very effective at derailing hateful legislation that was just designed to damage our community,” said Allen Thornell, former executive director of Georgia Equality and now one of its board chairs.
Martin’s appointment as DHR commissioner drew praise from HIV activists and gay organizations because of his record as a state legislator, including strong support for HIV funding and gay-inclusive hate crimes and civil rights bills. He resigned the DHR post in 2003.
Still in its infancy, the Martin campaign is working hard to raise money and endorsements in order to be seen as a serious contender in a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls. Martin was not available for comment.
“Right now we’re pressed to get a lot of things done,” interim Martin spokesman Austin Stephenson said.
Rumors surrounded Martin’s potential entry for months, before he answered those questions without actually saying a word himself. After months of speculation, he created a website that on March 19 simply said, “Today, I announced my candidacy for U.S. Senate. Please contribute to help us build the site!”
Since the online announcement, information about Martin’s new campaign has been hard to come by. As of press time he had yet to make a public appearance or put forward a platform on federal matters.
Gay activists like Jason Cecil, treasurer of the Stonewall Democrats, said gay voters will likely support Martin.
“The membership of Stonewall would fall pretty heavily for Jim Martin. At least in Democratic circles there is a lot of good will,” he said. “He’s always been good on our issues; he’s been very fair minded.”
In a press release to potential supporters, Martin decried Chambliss’ support of the Iraq war and of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
“We need a senator in Washington who answers to Georgians and not to George Bush and Dick Cheney 92 percent of the time,” Martin said. “Senator Chambliss’s uncritical advocacy of the Iraq war has been matched only by his disregard for the soldiers fighting it and their families.”
Chambliss was elected to the Senate in 2002 and previously served in the U.S. House.
During his run for lieutenant governor, Martin did not support gay marriage, but favored civil unions. The other two apparent frontrunners in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat, Jones and Cardwell, have said no to gay marriage but support domestic partner benefits for federal employees.
Martin is considered a frontrunner because he is the only candidate who has run a statewide campaign before, when he lost his bid for lieutenant governor to Cagle.
When Martin lost to Cagle, he carried 65,000 more votes than Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Taylor did in losing to Gov. Sonny Perdue, 57.9 percent to 38.2 percent, in the same election.
Whoever wins the July 15 primary, or the likely Aug. 5 runoff, will face an uphill climb against Chambliss. The day after Martin announced his campaign, Rasmussen Reports polled 500 Georgians asking who they would vote for against Chambliss out of the top three Democratic challengers.
Chambliss held significant margins against all three with Chambliss ahead of Martin 51 percent to 33 percent. Jones garnered 30 percent against Chambliss’ 56 percent. Cardwell did the best against Chambliss at 36 percent to 51 percent.
The
following comments were posted by our readers and were
not edited by SOVO. We ask that you
treat others with respect; any post deemed offensive will
be removed.
