Heeere ’s Johnny!

Only one Republican wants to be the next senator from Georgia—or so it seems, three months after Democrat Zell Miller said that he would not seek a new term in 2004. Congressman Johnny Isakson let a mere seven days slip by before announcing his desire to replace Miller, in what appears to be one of the GOP’s best opportunities to pick up a Senate seat next year. Since then, however, nobody else in either party has entered the race. That’s bizarre, because Isakson is a distinctly vulnerable candidate who has experienced only mixed success in a state that has grown gradually more Republican.

There ought to be a long line to succeed Miller, at least on the Republican side. Realignment finally came to Georgia last fall, when voters elected their first GOP governor since Reconstruction and enabled Republicans to gain control of the state senate, also for the first time since the 1800s. What’s more, Democratic senator Max Cleland went down to defeat against conservative congressman Saxby Chambliss, an outcome that few people anticipated. With Republicans still riding high after this sweep, and the very popular Miller stepping out of the way, everything seemed set for a spirited contest to capture the GOP’s Senate nomination in July 2004. And yet today it’s a one-man dash, as Isakson raises money and awareness without a single other candidate in the field.

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.

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Only one Republican wants to be the next senator from Georgia—or so it seems, three months after Democrat Zell Miller said that he would not seek a new term in 2004. Congressman Johnny Isakson let a mere seven days slip by before announcing his desire to replace Miller, in what appears to be one of the GOP’s best opportunities to pick up a Senate seat next year. Since then, however, nobody else in either party has entered the race. That’s bizarre, because Isakson is a distinctly vulnerable candidate who has experienced only mixed success in a state that has grown gradually more Republican.

There ought to be a long line to succeed Miller, at least on the Republican side. Realignment finally came to Georgia last fall, when voters elected their first GOP governor since Reconstruction and enabled Republicans to gain control of the state senate, also for the first time since the 1800s. What’s more, Democratic senator Max Cleland went down to defeat against conservative congressman Saxby Chambliss, an outcome that few people anticipated. With Republicans still riding high after this sweep, and the very popular Miller stepping out of the way, everything seemed set for a spirited contest to capture the GOP’s Senate nomination in July 2004. And yet today it’s a one-man dash, as Isakson raises money and awareness without a single other candidate in the field.

About the Author

John J. Miller

John J. Miller, a former national correspondent for National Review, is the director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College. He is the author of A Gift of Freedom: How the John M. Olin Foundation Changed America.