EDITORIAL: Peach State appeal

Sen. Saxby Chambliss failed to win a majority over challenger Jim Martin on Nov. 4 and now in the runoff Georgia is home to one of two hotly contested Senate races. The other race still unresolved is the recount in Minnesota, where Republican incumbent Norm Coleman faces comedian Al Franken. If Chambliss wins the Georgia standoff, it would decisively aid conservatives against a liberal agenda, especially since a Franken victory in Minnesota would give Democrats 59 seats, one short of a filibuster-proof Senate majority.

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $2 million on behalf of Mr. Chambliss, a freshman senator who spent eight years in the U.S. House. He has received endorsements from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Vets for Freedom. (Mr. Martin was endorsed by Veterans and Military Families for Progress.) Republicans across the spectrum are stumping for Mr. Chambliss - from Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin to former presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. The Democratic Party is showering the Martin campaign with money and manpower.

While Republicans will be the minority party in the U.S. Capitol in January whether Mr. Chambliss wins or loses, they hope to hold onto a state that less than a month ago voted for Mr. McCain against Barack Obama. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll by telephone of 700 likely Georgia voters in the runoff on Tuesday, Mr. Martin is at 46 percent and Mr. Chambliss is at 50 percent. The key to a victory for conservatives is to get voters to the polls on Tuesday.