Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss is an unlikely hero for the Republican party, with a record which has just enough questionable votes on key issues to make religious conservatives nervous, but not enough strong positions on civil liberties issues to make libertarian Republicans entirely happy with him. He’s often dismissed unfairly as a moderate, despite a record of fiscal and social issue conservatism. All of that was forgotten, when a very close election in Georgia put Chambliss in a runoff for what could have been the 60th Senate seat which would have given Democrats a filibuster-proof majority, reducing Senate Republicans to near-irrelevance.

Chambliss ended up in a runoff largely because of Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley, who drew 3.41% of the vote, more than enough to push Chambliss from 49.75% to well over 50% and victory. Chambliss sought support from the Libertarian Party of Georgia in the runoff, but when it was not forthcoming he was able to get backing from libertarian Republican groups to win over libertarians and libertarian Republican voters. Although he did not get their endorsement in the original election, the combination of his fiscally conservative record and the importance of keeping total control of the House out of the hands of Democrats helped convince the Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia to endorse Chambliss, and when he agreed to sign their Liberty Compact, the national RLC threw their support behind Chambliss as well.

That extra bit of support from the RLC won over many libertarians, and their votes along with some votes from independents who had previously voted for Chambliss’ oponnent Jim Martin, were enough to give Chambliss a comfortable 57% to 43% win in the runoff election on Tuesday, sending him back to Washington with a strong reminder that a lot of voters in Georgia and around the nation would like to see him focus more on fiscal conservatism and defending civil liberties in his next term.

The Chambliss victory prevents a Democratic super-majority in the Senate, but it still remains to be seen what the final breakdown of seats will be, as the disposition of the Minnesota seat held by Norm Coleman remains unresolved. Coleman’s apparent victory on election day is being whittled away by challenges and demands for precinct by precinct recounts from the campaign of comedian Al Franken who has brought in election strategist Mark Elias to mastermind what the Wall Street Journal has described as a blatant campaign to “steal the election if they can get away with it.” Coleman’s initial lead has been reduced to only about 200 votes through the machinations of Democratic operatives on election commissions and techniques like recounting so-called “undervotes” on the dubious theory that ballots with votes for Obama and no vote in the Senate race must have been meant to be Franken votes.

In the end the Minnesota Senate seat will probably be assigned by the courts – likely the Supreme Court itself – and their selection won’t be known until after the holidays. The comparison between these two elections, where third-party candidates made a clear majority impossible, shows the appeal of runoff systems. If the Minnesota vote had been followed by a runoff with the 15% of the vote which went to Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley up for grabs, the opportunities for fraud and manipulation would be reduced, the result would almost certainly not have been as close and they would not be struggling over which candidate who got less than 40% of the total votes to send to the Senate.

For now, battered and bruised Republicans can rest a little bit easier knowing that with the Chambliss victory they will have at least some voice in the Senate if they have the backbone and stamina to filibuster on important votes.

Florida RLC Update

Term limits advocate Tom Rooney picked up a Congressional seat (CD 16), replacing incumbent Tim Mahoney in a district still referred to as “Mark Foley’s old seat.” Meanwhile, Rep. Tom Feeney of Orlando (CD 24) lost his Congressional seat.

In the Florida legislature, two of the five RLC-endorsed candidates won their seats: Rich Workman (D30) and Lake Ray (D17). Thanks to Sarah Lovett, Dean Santoro and Matt Caldwell for flying the limited government flag in their first, but hopefully not last, electoral efforts.

RLCer Bruce Reichert won a non-partisan seat on the Collier County Soil & Water Board, as did Jeff Hunt in Duval County. Hunt is not an RLCer, but is the right-hand man of RLCer Adam Guillette, the Florida director of Americans for Prosperity.

Georgia RLC Update

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Georgia needs volunteers! We need liberty oriented folks to step up to the plate and assist the RLC in the following areas:

- Membership renewal and growth
- Writing articles and sending out newsletters
- Legislative coordinator: track legislation in the General Assembly and advise the membership on key votes
- Start a local RLC chapter in your area

If you’re interested in helping out, e-mail chair@gopliberty.org.

Minnesota RLC Update

RLC Minnesota Secretary Norann Dillon penned a beautiful letter in The Woodbury Bulletin on October 29 in response to a letter from a reader that mischaracterized the Republican Liberty Caucus. Norann also offered the following update to RLCMN subscribers:

“RLCMN sent out almost 150 Liberty Compacts to the endorsed Republican candidates in the state. They had to read it and realize there are people who want them to stand for its principles. We received 39 of them back, signed. We’ve received radio mentions by Jason Lewis; we had successful outreach at the Sept. 20 Conservative Issues Fair; Sue Jeffers featured our candidates on her radio show when they called from the Oct. 4th pork chop dinner; we received some press when Kathy Lohmer, candidate in 56A, mentioned our endorsement in a debate, and in the follow up letters to The Woodbury Bulletin.

Additionally, our eGroup has grown from about 170 members in the summer to almost 200 members today. We are creating an identity for ourselves with a RLCMN e-mail address, permanent address, and a bank account (with a positive balance!).

I think this is all significant when you consider that only a handful of people have done this. Imagine where we could go if all 200 of our subscribers found a way to apply themselves. The Executive Committee will meet this month to consider where we should direct our energies next.

RLCMN has six standing committees and three special directors. Which of these should we focus on: website? local chapters? outreach? position papers? membership? coalition building? We are poised and planning for growth. What do you think we should do? I invite and encourage discussion on our direction.

If you have skills, talents or interests that you can offer, please direct them to rlcminn@gmail.com.

I’m excited for our organization. I look forward to reading your thoughts on our future.”

A good number of RLC-endorsed candidates advanced through their primaries and on to the general elections in 2008, in what could be considered a breakout year for libertarian Republicans.  A listing of all of the RLC’s candidates is available here.

Each of the below candidates endorsed by the RLC ended up advancing in their respective primary race.  Congratulations!

• Alaska: Lt. Governor Sean Parnell, who was endorsed by the RLC, looks likely to lose in his race against Don Young. Both men are vying to represent Alaskans in Congress. Even if Parnell does lose, he will remain Lt. Governor. If McCain-Palin are successful in November, he will become Governor.

• Arizona: Sydney Hay, who is currently the underdog to replace Rick Renzi in Arizona’s First Congressional District. Hay received a donation from the Republican Liberty Caucus PAC.

• Colorado: George Lilly, who was inspired to run for Congress by Ron Paul.  Lilly is running in District 1 and is not favored to win the race due to district demographics.

• Florida: Ritch Workman, who is running for State Representative in District 30.

• Georgia: Dr. Paul Broun, who won his first campaign for Congress in 2007 and then faced a challenge from the establishment GOP in 2008.  Additionally, incumbent State Senator Jeff Chapman and State Representative Steve Davis, both RLC-endorsed, fended off challengers.

• Idaho: Elizabeth Allan Hodge, a former State Representative, won the GOP primary for State Representative in district 16B.

• Indiana: GOP challenger Bill Johnson narrowly lost his primary for State Representative in District 19.  However, in a victory for the RLC, the GOP challenger dropped out of the race for personal reasons and the county GOP decided that Johnson would be the ideal replacement.

• Maryland: The RLC has endorsed several victorious primary challengers in Maryland, including Richard Matthews (CD 02), Peter James (CD 04), Collins Bailey (CD 05), Roscoe Bartlett (CD 06), and Dr. Michael Hargadon (CD 07).  Unfortunately, all of the challengers are likely to lose due to district demographics.  Rep. Roscoe Bartlett is likely to retain his seat.

• Michigan: Three RLC candidates were victorious in their primaries in Michigan, including Justin Amash for State Representative (District 72), Bob Genetski for State Representative (District 88), and Tyler Whitney for Bash Township Trustee.

• Montana: RLC-endorsed candidates Greg Hinkle and Mike Miller won their races for State Senate and State Representative, respectively.

• Nevada: Kris Pickering won her primary for State Supreme Court and up-and-coming GOP rock star Lindsay Nicole Madsen won a tough primary for State Senate in District 7.

• North Carolina: Dr. B.J. Lawson won his primary and will face incumbent David Price for U.S. Congress, District 4.

• Oregon: Delia Lopez won her primary in Oregon, District 3 and will face veteran Earl Blumenauer in November.

• Texas: Dr. Ron Paul won his primary in Congressional District 14 and will return to Congress come January.

• Washington: Michael Delavar won his primary against an establishment GOP candidate in Congressional District 3. He will face incumbent Democrat Brian Baird in November.

• West Virginia: Edward R. Burgress, the RLC contact for West Virginia, won his primary in District 30 (St. Albans) for the House of Delegates. Seven individuals, all of them currently Democrats, represent this large district.

Although it looks like it will be a bad year for Republicans as a whole, GOP candidates advocating for limited government (and meaning it!) are going to do well in 2008, just as they did in 2006. (The only RLC-friendly member of Congress who lost in 2006 was Arizona’s J.D. Hayworth.)

In Virginia, the state RLC’s favorite legislator, Ken Cuccinelli, is running for Attorney General in 2009. He will face another Republican in the state primary, but he is the favorite to win both the primary and general election. Senator Cuccinelli addressed the newly chartered Virginia RLC earlier this year:

In Georgia, things are looking good for 2010. If Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, who the RLC has supported for years, jumps into the race for Governor, then the RLC’s leader in the State Senate, David Shafer, has a real opportunity to become Lt. Governor.

Georgia Senator David Shafer.

In Missouri, State Treasurer Sarah Steelman is facing an uphill fight against establishment Congressman Kenny Hulshof in the open gubernatorial race. Steelman is favored by RLC members for her no-nonsense, common sense approach to the issues. Ron Paul supporters are even planning a Money Bomb for Steelman. Treasurer Steelman also attended the Ron Paul Freedom Rally in Branson earlier this year. Roy Blunt, predictably, has endorsed her opponent, Kenny Hulshof.

Sarah Steelman

Finally, the RLC is thankful for its current incumbent Governors, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and Sarah Palin of Alaska. Although not perfect, these state leaders have shown independence from the GOP establishment and have the chutzpah to make real inroads toward returning the GOP to its small government heritage.

Sarah Palin

Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention our heroes of past, namely former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld.

While Governor of Massachusetts, Bill Weld ended the state’s borrowing, controlled Medicaid spending, reduced property taxes and balanced seven budgets in a row while passing 19 tax cuts and never raising taxes. He was elected during a tumultuous time when the state’s bond rating was near junk status, unemployment was nearly 10%, and the state had continuously borrowed money to close large operating deficits.

According to The Augusta Chronicle, in his second election in little more than a year, Paul Broun easily fended off state Rep. Barry Fleming during yesterday’s primary in Georgia, district 10. Broun was endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus.

During his grassroots campaign, Dr. Broun said he believed early on in the race he could win with big numbers. In his home county, Broun’s opponent, former State Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, failed to edge out Dr. Broun, R-Watkinsville, who won 58 percent of the more than 13,000 Republican ballots cast.

At last count, Mr. Fleming lost in each county of the 21-county district. Overall, Dr. Broun won nearly 43,000 to about 18,000 of the Republican vote in the 10th District, with most precincts reporting. “I think I had the message for the times,” Dr. Broun said. “We have to make some changes in Washington. We cannot continue to leverage our grandchildren’s future.”

In his previous run, Dr. Broun defeated Columbia County resident and former state Sen. Jim Whitehead in a July 2007 runoff election, decided by fewer than 400 votes, to replace the late Charlie Norwood. Broun will face a Democrat in November, but is now in the “safe” category.

Paul Broun is committed to protecting constitutional rights. He applies a four-way test before voting on legislation, including:

1) Is it Moral / Right?
2) Is it Constitutional?
3) Is it Necessary?
4) Is it Affordable?

Congratulations to Paul Broun and the voters in his district.