The death this week of seven-term Rep. Charlie Norwood has local and national political figures already scrambling for position in an upcoming special election. Part of the reason for the - some might suggest unseemly - rush is the fact that the special election is going to take place soon.
Georgia law says that the Governor has 10 days to issue a writ of election. Once that happens, the Secretary of State must set the special election no sooner than 30 days after the writ has been issued. A special election, in all likelihood, will take place by the end of March.
By the numbers, this northeastern Georgia district looks like a safe Republican district. It has a PVI of R+13 and Bush carried the district with 62 percent. For Republicans, Georgia was something of a bright spot in a very dark election. Republican challengers in the state came closer to knocking off Democratic incumbents than anywhere else in the country in 2006. Democratic Reps. Jim Marshall (GA-08) and John Barrow (GA-12) were the only two Democratic incumbents
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