By Brandon Larrabee
ATLANTA -- Political hopefuls and experienced officeholders fire opening shots Monday in some of the highest-profile political races this year as candidates trekked to the state Capitol to qualify for the 2008 campaign.
As Democrats emboldened by a nationwide surge in voter registration enlisted Iraq War veterans to attack some of the state GOP's power structure, Republicans in an Athens-area congressional district parried over campaign tactics.
And U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Savannah, picked up a promised primary challenge as he tries to hold onto the seat he narrowly won in the last two general elections.
Several Democrats have already lined up to challenge U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and one qualified Monday: former Human Resources Commissioner Jim Martin, who promptly moved to tie Chambliss to a president whose popularity ratings have dropped to almost historic lows.
"Georgians want a change," Martin said. "They don't like the policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney."
But Chambliss said anyone who tried to say he was too closely tied to Bush wasn't looking carefully at the senator's record.
"I have agreed with the president when I think he's right," Chambliss said. "And he's a conservative Republican, I'm a conservative Republican; naturally, we agree on a lot of issues. But there are issues we disagree on. ... If that's the worst anybody can say about me, I'd say I'm in pretty good shape."
Meanwhile, the state Democratic Party highlighted a group of four Army veterans who will run in congressional districts across the state, including the Athens-centered 10th District and the 1st District in Southeast Georgia.
Bill Gillespie, a retired lieutenant colonel running against U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, said his campaign would go beyond national security concerns and highlight the financial worries of the 1st District's voters.
"I'm not a one-trick pony," he said. "I'm not just trying to go after veterans and end the war in Iraq. This is about the economy and leadership in our economy."
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