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As expected for a runoff election the three weeks after the main event, turnout appears lighter in the Georgia senate race, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. But reports are that the lines are steady. Early and absentee voting appears to be indicating slightly higher turnout in some counties than expected, according to election officials.

At stake today is the senate seat currently held by incumbent Saxby Chambliss, who faces Democrat Jim Martin. Chambliss finished the general election with a plurality but state law requires a runoff if any candidate fails to get 50 percent of the vote. Should Martin win, it would give Democrats 59 seats in the U.S. Senate with the Minnesota race remaining in a recount. Polls in Georgia close at 7:00pm.

Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is in Georgia today, where she is appearing at four events in an effort to get out the Republican base in support of Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

Georgia voters will go to the polls tomorrow for a runoff election between Chambliss and Democratic rival Jim Martin, a vote that could help decide whether Democrats achieve a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. (Democrats now effectively hold 58 seats; if Martin and Minnesota Democrat Al Franken find their way to victory, they will have the necessary 60.)

Palin has already appeared in Augusta this morning, where she was greeted by several thousand supporters, according to the Associated Press, which notes that "Vendors sold bright pink 'Palin 2012' T-shirts and 'Palin for President: You Go Girl' buttons. She was greeted like a rock star with chants of 'Sa-rah!'"

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The Georgia senate runoff has featured appearances by political heavyweights from both sides of the aisle (even President-elect Obama cut a radio ad for Democrat Jim Martin). Now, the big GOP gun is coming out as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is set to join incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss for a series of rallies across the state next Monday, a day before the runoff election.

That Palin will be in the state so close to the vote is a statement about her new role in the party. Because runoff elections tends to be “base” elections, Chambliss is looking to energize conservatives in the state for the runoff and Palin’s presence is more evidence of her appeal to them. Other potential 2012 presidential candidates like Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani either have or plan to appear for Chambliss but Palin appears to be getting the job as the closer.

The race could give Democrats a 60-seat majority in the Senate depending on what happens in the Minnesota recount and saving the seat would be a rare victory for the GOP in the current environment. Palin could certainly get some credit as well. But Democrats retain hopes for taking the seat, as the Politico reports.

Despite what was thought to be some tough competition in a few races, five House incumbents from Georgia all cruised to victory over primary challengers on Tuesday.

The most notable race was that of Rep. John Lewis of the 5th district in Atlanta, who faced his first primary challenge in 16 years. Lewis, the civil rights leader who has been in Congress since 1987, had received criticism in his district for his initial support of Sen. Hillary Clinton instead of Barack Obama in the Democratic primary. Two younger black candidates -- Rev. Markel Hutchins and state Rep. "Able" Mable Thomas -- challenged Lewis in the primary, but Lewis won with about 70 percent of the vote. He is unopposed in the general election.

The other notable Democratic race was in the 12th district in Eastern Georgia, where Rep. John Barrow defeated state Sen. Regina Thomas with about three-quarters of the vote. As we wrote about earlier in this space, this race was significant because Obama endorsed and recorded a radio ad for Barrow, a white centrist Democrat, over the more liberal black challenger, Thomas, in a district that is 42 percent black. But Barrow, who won his 2006 race by less than 1000 votes, can't rest easy now – he now faces Republican John Stone, a former congressional aide who won the GOP primary.

On the Republican side, the most notable race was that of Rep. Paul Broun in the 10th district in northeast Georgia. Broun, who first won his seat in a special election last year, easily defeated state Rep. Barry Fleming, despite the fact that the challenger had much of the party establishment behind him. Broun is favored to win over Democrat Bobby Saxon in November.

In other Georgia races, Democrats Rep. Jim Marshall and Rep. David Scott also defeated primary challengers. And no Democrats got the needed 50 percent in a Democratic primary for the right to take on incumbent Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. So there now will be an Aug. 5 runoff election between DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones and former state lawmaker Jim Martin.

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