Many times over the past few months, we’ve been asked if and when we’d fundraise for another candidate. We’ve said all along that we’d hold our fire unless and until we saw a very special opportunity emerge. That time is now.
Over the past two cycles, SSP has only endorsed three candidates: Jon Tester and Paul Hackett in 2005 and Travis Childers earlier this year in his groundbreaking Mississippi special election race. Today, we add a fourth: Georgia Senate candidate Jim Martin, who is waging an uphill but increasingly competitive battle against the repugnant GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss.
As with Childers, we were the first prognosticator to give this race a highly competitive rating, and the polls have shown this contest dramatically tightening in recent weeks. We would never ask our readers to donate to a candidate unless we truly believed that we stood a fighting chance of winning — and I believe that Jim Martin is within striking distance.
As Markos writes, Jim Martin is a progressive candidate across the board — a veteran state legislator, a sharp consumer advocate and friend of labor, and a thoroughly committed Democrat. You couldn’t ask for a better trade than replacing Saxby Chambliss, a man who slandered triple-amputee Max Cleland in his 2002 Senate race, with Jim Martin.
We’re not predicting a Martin win. But we are saying that this is a crucial opportunity, and Martin needs every last dollar he can get. While we would all love for the DSCC to flood Georgia with ads and resources, it’s time to put our money where our mouths are. If we expect Chuck Schumer to step up, we should be prepared to do the same.
Our goal? The same as in April: $2300 for Martin. In other words, that’s the equivalent of one “maxed out” big dollar donation.
Together, we can do this. So please support Jim Martin today with whatever you can manage.
SSP and Open Left fundraisers are my favorites.
Also, was there no endorsement for Paul Hackett in 2005? Maybe “endorsement” wasn’t the m.o. of that particular crew.
Well your good timing endorsing Jim Martin deserves good polling news.
Insider/Advantage poll
Chambliss 45
Martin 45
other 2
undecided 8
531 likely voters
Interviewed 9 Oct 2008
Sampling error +/- 4%
http://www.southernpoliticalre…
if SSP might endorse Martin! Glad to hear this news. He’s definitely run a great campaign and he knows how to use campaign contributions effectively. It would be great if he could win. I’ll chip in during the weekend.
Does anyone know where he stands politically? His website is a bit vague. I’d imagine he’s pretty conservative socially. He’d have to be to win in Georgia. Though he does sound like a real populist and sounds sensible on immigration and supportive of other progressive issues such as alternative energy and healthcare reform.