Jim Martin—Georgia

As late as Q4 of 07, it looked like Saxby Chambliss's Senate seat was a safe one. Sure, his approval ratings have been well below 50% for quite a while. But despite Georgia producing such homegrown Democratic political icons as Jimmy Carter (now respected as much or more than ever) and Zell Miller (ahm, not so much), outside of the Democratic bastion of urban Atlanta, the state's been a pretty reliable Republican bastion for many years.. Chambliss is well-funded and he brings home the bacon for Georgia's GOP faithful. More to the point, he didn't have a viable Democratic challenger for 2008. Then Jim Martin threw his hat in the ring. And it's a whole different ball game now.