James Francis Martin (born August 22, 1945) is an American politician and former member of the

Georgia General Assembly The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, Martin opposed incumbent U.S. Senator

Saxby Chambliss Clarence Saxby Chambliss (; born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was a United States Senate, United States Senator from Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party (Unite ...

in the 2008 election. In the general election, no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, forcing a run-off election on December 2, 2008, which Martin subsequently lost.

Early life, education, and military service

Martin was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia and grew up in a family of six boys. As a child he contracted

polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. In 1963, after graduating from Atlanta's public school system, he enrolled at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, where he was elected freshman class president. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Georgia as was his political opponent Senator Saxby Chambliss. After earning his bachelor's and J.D. degrees at Georgia, he entered the U.S. Army and completed a tour of duty in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. After his return from the war, Martin re-enrolled at the University of Georgia and earned an LL.M. degree, subsequently working as a private attorney and as assistant legislative counsel to the

. In 1980, he earned an M.B.A. from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

Political career

Georgia House of Representatives

Martin won a special election to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

in 1983. He served in the Assembly from 1983 to 2001, winning re-election in 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. During his tenure in the House, Martin served as chairman of several committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Human Services Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. He also served as an active member of the Industrial Relations, Special Judiciary and Children and Youth Committees. In September 2001, Martin relinquished his House seat and was appointed Commissioner of Human Resources by Governor

Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th governo ...

. On September 19, 2003, he resigned from his position as Commissioner. From 2004 to 2005, Martin served as the Chief Legal Officer of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council.

2006 Georgia Lieutenant Governor election

Martin was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 2006. He received the endorsement of former Governor

, but was defeated by Republican candidate Casey Cagle. From 2007 to 2008, Martin was an Executive Fellow at the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

2008 United States Senate election

On March 19, 2008, Martin launched his campaign for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican senator

. He came in second to Vernon Jones in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

and advanced to a run-off election. On August 5, 2008, Martin defeated Jones in the run-off, and prepared to face Chambliss in the general election in November. For most of the year, incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss held a comfortable lead in the polls, but the race tightened closer to the election. In the general election on November 4, 2008, Chambliss fell .2% shy of the simple majority needed to win the election and Martin finished about 3% behind. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a run-off election was held on December 2, 2008, between Martin and Chambliss. Chambliss went on to win the run-off with 57% of the vote to Martin's 43%.

Personal life

Jim Martin has been married to Joan Martin since 1970 and has four children and four grandchildren. He is also an elder at Atlanta'
Morningside Presbyterian Church
(

Presbyterian Church USA The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its theological roots lie primarily in the Scottish Reformat ...

).Jim Martin
Project Vote Smart

References

External links

* *
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org *''Follow the Money'' – Jim F Martin
2006
Lieutenant Governor campaign contributions
200019981996
Georgia House campaign contributions , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jim 1945 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American Presbyterians Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Politicians from Atlanta State cabinet secretaries of Georgia (U.S. state) Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections 21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly