Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has announced he will retire at the end of this term and will not seek re-election in 2014.
Chambliss, who has come under fire from anti-tax groups, conservative grassroots, and Tea Party activists for his stances on growing government. Most recently, he was the first to shy away from the anti-tax platform of the GOP in the negotiations of the alleged "fiscal cliff", stating:
"I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge."
Chambliss barely won re-election in 2008, as he was forced to a runoff against Democrat Jim Martin. Already, challengers on both sides of the aisle were lining up to possibly challenge Chambliss. Now, with the prospect of going after an open seat, we can bet those numbers will increase.
On the Republican side, the list of names already includes Rep. Tom Price (6), Rep. Paul Broun (10), Karen Handel, Erick Erickson of RedState, and even Rep. Tom Graves (14) and Rep. Jack Kingston (1). Herman Cain, who ran in the 2006 primary against Chambliss, has stated he would not seek the seat but focus on his radio show instead, taking over for the just-retired Neal Boortz.
Possible Democrats for now include former Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond (who ran for Senate in 2010 but lost to Johnny Isakson), Rep. John Barrow (12), and Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed.
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