Georgians Return Chambliss To The Senate
An examination of the results map shows Martin (in blue) winning in predictable urban areas -- Albany, Atlanta, Athens, Augusta (one county), Columbus, Macon, Savannah -- and counties that are poor, rural/agricultural, and black.
The buzz on this result is that Democrats have lost their hope of a "filibuster-proof" majority. It is true that the most seats that the Democrats can hope to hold now is 59. However, asserting that 60 seats is "filibuster proof" assumes a lockstep straight-party voting pattern that is the exception, not the rule. Many Democrats are from conservative states and do not always vote with their party. The same holds true for Republican lockstep voting.
Nevertheless, I am glad that the Democrats will fall short of the 60-seat goal. I'm not comfortable with one party controlling both houses of Congress and the White House. I'm even less comfortable adding an overwhelming party majority in the Senate. Nor is either situation the norm.
Democrats have picked up seven Senate seats this election cycle, increasing their Senate majority to 58, the most held by Democrats since 1979-81. In Minnesota, incumbent Republican freshman Senator Norm Coleman leads Democratic challenger Al Franken in the recount by less than 300 votes.
Curious about my claim that Martin won in poor, black counties? Take a look at these data from the U.S. Census Bureau:
Georgia Statistics
- Martin vote statewide (43%)
- Demographic, state average: 29.9% black
- Sociographic, state average, 2004: 15.6% below poverty
- Bibb (Macon, 53%) - 50.4% black; 20.0% below poverty
- Chatham (Savannah, 52%) - 40.9% black; 16.9% below poverty
- Clarke (Athens, 62%) - 26.0% black; 19.7% below poverty
- Clayton (Metro Atlanta, 80%) - 62.9% black; 14.8% below poverty
- DeKalb (Metro Atlanta, 74%) - 55.3% black; 14.7% below poverty
- Dougherty (Albany, 64%) - 63.9% black; 22.3% below poverty
- Fulton (Atlanta, 60%) - 42.8% black; 15.6% below poverty
- Muscogee (Columbus, 57%) - 46.5% black; 17.1% below poverty
- Twiggs (Metro Macon, 55%) - 40.7% black; 17.7% below poverty
- Calhoun (57%) - 61.2% black; 26.3% below poverty
- Clay (58%) - 60.6% black; 26.3% below poverty
- Hancock (80%) - 75.5% black; 24.6% below poverty
- Jefferson (55%) - 55.3% black; 20.4% below poverty
- Liberty (61%) - 43.7% black; 15.6% below poverty
- Macon (64%) - 58.6% black; 22.5% below poverty
- Richmond (59%) - 53.3% black; 20.0% below poverty
- Stewart (61%) - 60.5% black; 23.9% below poverty
- Talbot (63%) - 55.9% black; 18.9% below poverty
- Taliafero (65%) - 59.0% black; 22.8% below poverty
- Bacon (80%) - 17.2% black; 18.2% below poverty
- Banks (83%) - 3.6% black; 12.3% below poverty
- Brantley (83%) - 4.4% black; 16.3% below poverty
- Cherokee (82%) - 5.3% black; 6.5% below poverty
- Dawson (85%) - 0.8% black; 9.5% below poverty
- Forsyth (85%) - 2.7% black; 5.5% below poverty
- Glascock (82%) - 9.7% black; 14.0% below poverty
- Habersham (81%) - 4.4% black; 11.7% below poverty
- Hall (80%) - 6.8% black; 12.0% below poverty
- Jackson (81%) - 7.0% black; 11.8% below poverty
- Pickens (80%) - 1.5% black; 10.4% below poverty
- Pierce (84%) - 10.1% black; 16.8% below poverty
- Pike (80%) - 12.7% black; 10.5% below poverty
- Walton (80%) - 14.5% black; 11.2% below poverty


Comments
Hi, Kathy, Judy B’s friend Doug here, writing from Atlanta. You hit the nail on the head. But what is even more distressing is the rank racism that unlies all this. My nephew returned from the Georgia-Florida football game saying that people in Jacksonville were saying: “Change stands for Can Help a N(word) Get Elected.” My sister in middle Georgia had Obama and Martin signs in her yard, and a high school friend was staying with her. The friend, from Los Angeles, was one of the Obama field organizers in Georgia to help Martin. Two days before the runoff election someone threw a softball size rock through the living room window of my sister’s house — smashing a double-paned window. Someone just forwarded me an email saying the result of Nov. 4 is “another black family living in government housing.” It’s ugly out there!
Hi, Doug! Thanks for the comment.
I talked to ME today and she pointed out that the blue strip — the one that I think of as following the fall line — reflects plantation cotton. That would explain the higher than average black population.
I knew that where I grew up (that blue patch in the SW) was “different” from the rest of the state — especially North Georgia (most of the 80% counties) — but it wasn’t until I crunched these numbers that I saw why it was so different.
I also knew it was poor. I just didn’t realize how poor. :-/
Also interesting that no college/university community other than Athens & Atlanta went blue. Maybe they did at a precinct level — the CNN data are county-level.
I’m sorry to hear about the violence to your sister’s home. I’m also sad to say that it goes both ways — people with McCain signs (in other communities) found themselves vandalized as well. :-/