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 directly ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa * Botswana Democratic Party * Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *De ...

, 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 Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative fro ...

in the 2008 election. In the general election, no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, forcing a

run-off election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

on December 2, 2008, which Martin subsequently lost.

Early life, education, and military service

Martin was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 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 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe sy ...

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

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, 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 The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

and completed a tour of duty in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. 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 research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

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. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

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 Govern ...

. 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 The lieutenant governor of Georgia is a constitutional officer of the State of Georgia, elected to a four-year term by popular vote. Unlike in some other U.S. states, the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the Governor of ...

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

Andrew Young School of Policy Studies The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University houses the Criminal Justice & Criminology, Economics, School of Social Work, Urban Studies and Public Management & Policy departments. Georgia State University is the large ...

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 Vernon Angus Jones (born October 31, 1960) is an American politician who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001 and from 2017 to 2021. Between his periods in the Georgia House of Representatives, Jones was Chief Execut ...

in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

and advanced to a

. 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 PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

).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