Cherokee TV

Martin Wins August 5 Democratic Senate Runoff

Tom Brooks
Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Jim Martin defeated Vernon Jones to capture the Democratic nomination in the August 5 general primary runoff election. Martin is challenging Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss in the Nov. 4 general election.

Martin, a former state legislator and former commissioner of the state Department of Human Resources, received almost 60 percent of the statewide vote to the 40 percent tally garnered by Jones, the DeKalb County CEO.

Martin, a resident of Atlanta, outpolled Jones by an 8-to-1 margin in Cherokee County, receiving 1,106 votes, or 87.6 percent. Jones received 157 votes, or 12.4 percent.

Cherokee County has been a Republican stronghold for several years. In the July 15 general primary, just over 2,000 of the nearly 16,700 votes cast were Democratic ballots.

With 97 percent of voting precincts reporting, statewide August 5 results showed Martin with 188,011 votes, or 59.8 percent, to Jones' 126,319 votes, or 40.2 percent.

In additon to Martin and Chambliss, a Moultrie resident who is seeking his second six-year term in the U.S. Senate, the November 4 general election also includes Libertarian challenger Allen Buckley, a Smyrna resident.

The Democratic contest was the only contest on the August 5 runoff ballots in Cherokee County.

For more information, visit the Cherokee County Elections & Voter Registration Office’s Web site at http://voter.cherokeega.com. To reach the office by phone, call (770) 479-0407.