(CNSNews.com) – In a disappointing year for Republicans, there is good news on Wednesday: Democrats will not have a filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate.
Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss easily won a second term in Georgia’s runoff election on Tuesday.
Chambliss was forced into a runoff against Democrat Jim Martin, his college fraternity brother, when neither man received more than 50 percent of the vote in November.
The Republican National Committee hailed Chambliss as a “strong, conservative leader” who can be trusted to “uphold the Republican principles of lower taxes and a strong defense.”
“His reelection sends a clear message that the Republican Party and our core conservative principles are alive and well,” RNC Chairman Robert M. "Mike" Duncan said in a news release.
Chambliss won with 57 percent of votes to Martin's 43 percent. Many of the Georgia Democrats who voted for Barack Obama and Martin in November did not return to the polls on Tuesday.
Turnout in Tuesday’s runoff was around 35 percent, compared with 65 percent in the general election in November.
"For me and my family and campaign team and all of you, this is a sad moment,” Martin told his supporters Tuesday night after conceding the race to Chambliss.
Chambliss told his cheering supporters that his victory means Democrats won’t have a blank check in Washington. “You have delivered a message that a balance in government in Washington is necessary, and that's not only what the people of Georgia want, it's what the people of America want," he said.
Republican presidential nominee John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin all stumped for Chambliss.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore both stumped for Martin, and President-elect Obama recorded phone calls and a radio ad for the former state lawmaker from Atlanta.
-------
(Some of the information in this report comes from the Associated Press.)