In a November 24 Politico article, staff writer Josh Kraushaar reported that the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has aired a campaign advertisement attacking Georgia Democratic senatorial candidate Jim Martin as “soft on crime.” But Kraushaar did not note that the Martin campaign responded to the NRSC's attack ad with an ad of its own, in which Martin notes that his daughter was kidnapped when she was 8 years old and states, “That's why I fought so hard to crack down on violent crime and lock up violent criminals.” Kraushaar did mention the Martin ad in a November 24 post on his Politico blog, The Scorecard.

The Martin campaign released the ad and an accompanying press release on November 22, in response to the NRSC's ad, which accuses Martin of opposing legal protections for children, and an ad from the independent group Freedom's Watch, which states that Martin is “one public leader [who] failed to look out for Georgia families.” The Martin campaign press release stated:

In a new ad released today, Jim Martin responds to [incumbent Sen.] Saxby Chambliss' false, personal attacks on Martin's record protecting children. The truth is that Jim Martin has always fought to protect children and families, because he knows what it's like to have a child come face-to-face with violent crime.

Martin's daughter Becky was kidnapped when she was eight years old. Fortunately she was let go, but Martin never forgot the way Becky trembled when she came face-to-face with her kidnapper in court. Over his 18-year tenure in the state legislature and during his service as Commissioner of Georgia's Department of Human Resources, Martin built a reputation as a leading advocate for children.

From the Politico's November 24 article:

The Chambliss campaign has raised about $4 million since the runoff campaign began, and the Republican National Committee has loaned $2 million to the National Republican Senatorial Committee to help fund the runoff. The NRSC has already aired two ads attacking Martin for being a tax-and-spend liberal and soft on crime.

But what keeps Chambliss operatives up at night is that the runoff -- with its emphasis on turnout -- has little to do with either candidate's performance and more to do with their own efforts to rally the base.

“My dog could have been on the ballot and would be in exactly the same position Jim Martin is today,” said Tom Perdue, Chambliss' longtime political consultant. “Martin was the beneficiary of an Obama wave that swept the country. As a person, as a candidate, he's the most insignificant opponent in all my 30 years of politics. Nobody knows who he is.”