You might be right, but did he buck the party when he was a freshman?!
Yes, he didn't even serve a full term. He was appointed to the seat after Paul Coverdell died a year and a half into his term. He served for a few months, won the rest of Coverdell's term in his own right in 2000, and served till 2004.
Previous to that, he had served as Governor of Georgia from '91 till '99, and Lt. Governor '77 till '91.
Sorry, make that Lt. Governor from '75 till '91.
You might be right, but did he buck the party when he was a freshman?!...He didn't have to. The Dims had some plan, morals and real people way back then.