2.04.2006
Roll Call: GA 3rd a tossup...
3rd District
Incumbent: Jim Marshall (D)
2nd term (63 percent)
Outlook: Tossup
Marshall currently represents the south-central 3rd district, but under a newly approved Congressional map he will be running for re-election in a renumbered and reconfigured seat. Next year, he will face former Rep. Mac Collins (R), who represented portions of this redrawn district until he lost a GOP Senate primary last year. Collins’ primary performance was disappointing to say the least. His fundraising was lackluster, he was never able to gain traction and he finished a distant third in the contest. But Republicans say Collins learned from that experience, and that he is campaigning and fundraising with a renewed enthusiasm this time around. He is a strong retail politician, they say, an attribute that is better suited to a House district than a statewide run. Marshall, however, has proved to be a difficult target. After narrowly winning the seat in 2002, he defeated the same Republican opponent in 2004 with 63 percent of the vote, running well ahead of President Bush, who won 55 percent. Marshall is a Vietnam veteran and has compiled a fairly moderate voting record in his three years in the House. Under the new lines, however, Bush would have won 57 percent, and the black population of the district has been diminished. Republicans estimate that the new district is made up of one-third territory represented by Marshall, one-third territory formerly represented by Collins and one-third new territory to both. The GOP has a strong track record of winning open and competitive seats in Georgia in recent years, as a political realignment swept the party into power in 2002 for the first time since Reconstruction. But that same year, Marshall emerged as one of the few Democratic bright spots, winning the home district of the two Republicans at the top of the ticket (now-Gov. Sonny Perdue and now-Sen. Saxby Chambliss). The district is considered cheap as far as media markets go, so look for both parties and interest groups to spend heavily on each candidate’s behalf.
Incumbent: Jim Marshall (D)
2nd term (63 percent)
Outlook: Tossup
Marshall currently represents the south-central 3rd district, but under a newly approved Congressional map he will be running for re-election in a renumbered and reconfigured seat. Next year, he will face former Rep. Mac Collins (R), who represented portions of this redrawn district until he lost a GOP Senate primary last year. Collins’ primary performance was disappointing to say the least. His fundraising was lackluster, he was never able to gain traction and he finished a distant third in the contest. But Republicans say Collins learned from that experience, and that he is campaigning and fundraising with a renewed enthusiasm this time around. He is a strong retail politician, they say, an attribute that is better suited to a House district than a statewide run. Marshall, however, has proved to be a difficult target. After narrowly winning the seat in 2002, he defeated the same Republican opponent in 2004 with 63 percent of the vote, running well ahead of President Bush, who won 55 percent. Marshall is a Vietnam veteran and has compiled a fairly moderate voting record in his three years in the House. Under the new lines, however, Bush would have won 57 percent, and the black population of the district has been diminished. Republicans estimate that the new district is made up of one-third territory represented by Marshall, one-third territory formerly represented by Collins and one-third new territory to both. The GOP has a strong track record of winning open and competitive seats in Georgia in recent years, as a political realignment swept the party into power in 2002 for the first time since Reconstruction. But that same year, Marshall emerged as one of the few Democratic bright spots, winning the home district of the two Republicans at the top of the ticket (now-Gov. Sonny Perdue and now-Sen. Saxby Chambliss). The district is considered cheap as far as media markets go, so look for both parties and interest groups to spend heavily on each candidate’s behalf.
