Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson’s career in Georgia politics began with his election to the state legislature in 1976. Over the course the next three decades he lost two big races; the 1990 gubernatorial contest and the 1996 GOP Senate primary. But, Isakson won a congressional seat in the 1999 special election to replace then-Speaker Newt Gingrich and has been on a winning streak since. He seems well positioned to extend that streak as he seeks re-election to a second term in the Senate.
Isakson ran for the seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Zell Miller in 2004. He managed to win the nomination without a run-off, taking 53 percent of the vote to 26 percent for businessman Herman Cain and 21 percent for then-Rep. Mac Collins. Democrats struggled to recruit a candidate in the general election. One-term Rep. Denise Majette emerged as the nominee after a primary and a run-off. While Majette, who is African American, was able to win support from Democrats in metro Atlanta, her candidacy didn’t catch on in other parts of the state. And, she didn’t run
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