PeterH770, your facts are in the same league as Ann Coulter&
Peter, you have your facts wrong. Chambliss was 3% ahead of his Democratic challenger in the November election, but with 49.8% of the vote, he was 0.2% short of winning reelection under Georgia's 50% rule for statewide contests (which few if any other states have). In the runoff, his margin grew to 15%, which is not surprising since traditionally the GOP is better at turnout than the Democrats, the exception being a high-interest, high-turnout race like we had in November.
The numbers are in this article, see for yourself:
en.wikipedia.org
and from the Georgia Secretary of State's office:
December 2008 runoff results:
November 2008 results:
The Democrat was NOT ahead in November, he was 3% behind Chambliss. The December runoff did not change the order of the candidates, Chambliss won both times. The difference is that in the 49 other states, Chambliss's 49.8% first place finish in November would have been enough to reelect him.
Also, the runoff was not a recount. There was no question that Chambliss beat the Democrat in the November election by a margin of 3%, it wasn't that close. The reason for the runoff was Chambliss' failure to reach 50%, which he barely missed. The recount in Minnesota was AUTOMATICALLY triggered by the margin of 215 votes separating the two candidates. Franken did not have to request a recount, it was automatic under state law.
The Georgia 50% rule favors Republicans because they are generally better at turnout out their voters than the Democrats. In 1992, GOP candidate Paul Coverdell finished second to Democratic incumbent Sen. Wyche Fowler by 30,000 votes. Fowler did not get a 50% majority and in the runoff, Coverdell beat Fowler by 20,000. In that election (1992), the runoff did change the order of the candidates and a Republican did come from behind to win, but this was not the case in 2008.
The Georgia state legislature, at that time controlled by Democrats, repealed the 50% law after the Coverdell episode. When Max Cleland was elected to Senate in 1996, he came in first but with less than 50%, but won the race because there was no longer a 50% requirement. After the GOP gained control of the state legislature, they reinstated the 50% rule. This explains why Cleland (1996) did not have to reach 50%, but Coverdell (1992) and Chambliss (2008)did require 50% and a runoff each time.
