Free Republic

In times past, an open U.S. Senate seat would have touched off a stampede among ambitious Georgia Democrats eager to offer for the job. Even against an incumbent, there sometimes was a crowd. The 1972 race, for example, featured 15 Democratic candidates, counting an appointed incumbent who hadnt held office long. But in the new Georgia, with a Republican in the executive mansion and the GOP controlling eight of 13 congressional seats, Democrats seem to be having a hard time finding candidates for the Senate seat that will come open next year. Sen. Zell Millers post is the only one...

In recent years, pollsters have said that Medicare prescription drug coverage is not a wedge issue anymore because both Republicans and Democrats support expanding the program. But the issue could play a role in the Georgia Senate race to replace retiring Zell Miller (D). Rep. Mac Collins, a conservative Ways and Means Committee member who entered the race in May, was one of only eight Republicans who voted against the 2002 House GOP prescription drug bill. He was also the sole Ways and Means Republican that year to vote against an earlier version of the plan, crafted by committee Chairman...

You wouldn't think the fight over the state flag referendum has played a role in the 2004 U.S. Senate race, but it has. Privately, leading Democrats will tell you the flap has soured the climate for prominent African-American politicians who otherwise might consider running for a top-tier statewide position -- and the chance to make a bit of history. Instead, the flag referendum -- along with the overwhelming figure of Zell Miller -- has kept strategists searching for a white, conservative Democrat who is not Mark Taylor or Cathy Cox. Last week's news that Mary Squires might seek the nomination...

The state lawmaker who tearfully marched into Gov. Sonny Perdue's office and called him a "racist" wants to be a U.S. senator. State Sen. Mary Squires (D-Norcross), a 45-year-old paralegal, will probably make an official announcement within two weeks, said Michael Berlon, the Gwinnett County Democratic Party chairman who is temporarily doubling as Squires' campaign spokesman. "Over the years I've noticed that average people rarely put their hat in the ring for anything," said Squires, who said she is confident she can meet the fund-raising challenge of a multi-million-dollar race. "I'm a regular old working mom who just wants to...