Heating Up for Martin

There 's no question: Jim Martin can become Georgia's next senator. Polling data to date reflects a tight, unpredictable race, and the outcome entirely depends on turnout. Internal polling to be released tomorrow will show an even tighter, two point, race-a statistical dead heat with neither candidate breaking 50%.

On the ground, there is significant enthusiasm about the race among democrats. For example, last week, Lauren Benedict called me as she left her office to say that there were eight people there to phone bank for Martin. And, Martin and Powell were both here in Macon for a rally on Saturday afternoon-at a time when I thought it would be really difficult to build a crowd given Mercer's homecoming-and, yet, City Hall was packed with a diverse, local, enthusiastic crowd.

The impact of the Obama field organization will also important. At the rally on Saturday, staff were there from the beginning making sure that all who came to the rally signed up for shifts for canvassing and phone banks. It is my sense that the Martin organization is far better than Chambliss', and that alone may make the difference on Dec. 2nd.

Having backed a number of outstanding candidates who went on to lose their races, I am now, officially, a political realist. But, the reality here is that Martin really can win this thing if we go vote and make sure that everyone we know who voted for Martin in the general gets back to the polls by Tuesday. That's the bottom line.

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The X Factor

For those of you who think that this election was all about race, you're ignoring the critical "X" factor.

But for unmarried women, Jim Martin would be planning a vacation instead of runoff, and Barack Obama, at 47% in Georgia, would not have netted the highest percentage of any democratic presidential candidate in the state, save favorite son Carter, since Kennedy. According to Women's Voices, Women Vote, in Georgia, unmarried women favored Martin over Chambliss by 49 points, and Obama over McCain by 42 points. The same group was an anchor for Obama's victory nationally. Why? According the Women's Voices:

Economic concerns greatly influenced women’s vote in Georgia, including rising health care costs (16 percent), the federal budget deficit and national debt (13 percent), job loss (11 percent), the availability of family-supporting jobs (10 percent), higher taxes (10 percent), and daily expenses like food or child care (10 percent).

It makes perfect sense that overwhelming numbers of all women supported Jim Martin. Overall, exit polls indicate that 54% of all women supported Martin, while he garnered just 38% of the male vote. Jim has always had our back; now it's time for us to step up and make sure he has the support he needs to win. You can do that by contributing to his campaign, today. Saxby Chambliss dropped a cool million of his big insurance, big sugar money on television just this weekend, and Jim needs your financial support quickly to open field offices and fund voter communication. You can also help by volunteering in one of the many field offices that are opening around the state and by taking yourself and five other women to vote in this runoff election. It is YOU who can propel Jim Martin to victory, and here's why you should:

During his 17 years in the Georgia legislature, Jim Martin has consistently stood on the side of women and children, and now it's our turn to stand with him. Jim was one of the key architects of Georgia's PeachCare program that helps thousands of working families afford health insurance for their children. He has fought to protect women's privacy in making medical decision, standing against politicians who sought to substitute their judgement for that of women and their doctors. As NARAL says:

Jim stood with us even when his family was threatened...even when it wasn't popular...even when he constantly had to face down anti-choice politicians in the legislature. Jim signed amicus briefs in support of Roe v. Wade and always voted in support of the landmark Supreme Court decision that recognized that women and their doctors -- not politicians -- should decide what's best for women's health. When Jim was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the Georgia legislature, he stood up against an anti-choice abortion ban that came for his committee -- more than once -- because it didn't include an exception for women's health.

It is, indeed, our turn to stand with Jim. If Georgia women will turn out in NUMBERS to support Jim Martin in this runoff, we will elect a brand new democratic senator from Georgia. I urge you to think about what you can personally do to help Jim.

The bottom line? Georgia women will be a critical factor in this runoff election, and it's time for us to step up and help Jim Martin, someone who has always had our back.

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