The Cary Town Council will hold a public hearing Thursday to discuss the instant-runoff voting system, which allows voters to rank their choices.

ATLANTA – There’s now just one unresolved Senate contest in the country.

But the stakes in the Minnesota recount are much lower, since Democrat hopes of a 60-seat filibuster-proof majority have been dashed.

Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss won a bruising runoff battle against Democrat Jim Martin in Georgia yesterday. It’s a rare bright spot for Republicans in a year where they lost the White House as well as seats in the House and Senate.

The runoff was necessary because neither man got 50 percent in a three-way contest in November.

Chambliss’ mantra on the campaign trail was simple: His re-election was critical to prevent Democrats in Washington from having a blank check.

Martin made the economy the centerpiece of his bid, casting himself as a champion of the neglected middle class.

ATLANTA – Georgia voters had their hands on the balance of power in the next U.S. Senate in a runoff election Tuesday, one of two unresolved races that Democrats need to win to get a 60-seat majority impervious to GOP filibusters.

Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss faced Democrat Jim Martin after a post-general election campaign that drew national political heavyweights from both parties.

In Minnesota, a recount that could take weeks is under way in a tight race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

No problems were reported after Georgia polls opened at 7 a.m., Secretary of State spokesman Matt Carrothers said. A few precincts reported short lines. Polls were scheduled to close at 7 p.m. Murray Gottlieb, 54, a caterer in Savannah, said he voted for Chambliss because he doesn’t want complete Democratic control of the Senate.

“I support Barack Obama now. I hope he’s the best president we’ve ever had and we get out of the funk we’re in, but I don’t want to give him that much power,” Gottlieb said after casting his ballot at a church in Savannah.

The ailing economy brought architect Glen McClure, 47, out for Martin.

“My motivation is, I’m unemployed as of yesterday,” he said at a library-turned-polling place in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood.

Chambliss and Martin both fell short of the 50-percent threshold in a three-way general election race with Libertarian candidate Allen Buckley, who drew 3.4 percent of the vote. It’s Georgia’s first Senate runoff since 1992, when Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler was upset by Republican Paul Coverdell.

Chambliss is seeking a second term after winning in 2002 against Democratic Sen. Max Cleland in a campaign that infuriated Democrats with a TV ad that questioned Cleland’s commitment to national security and flashed a photo of Osama bin Laden. Martin has aligned himself with President-elect Barack Obama’s message of change, and has vowed to provide economic relief for the middle class. Chambliss has promised to be a firewall against a Democratic-dominated Washington getting a “blank check.”

Early voting statistics were encouraging for the Chambliss camp.

Of the nearly 500,000 early voters, turnout was down among black voters and higher among white males compared to advance voting before the general election.

White males normally are a solid Republican constituency in Georgia, while exit polls showed that Martin won the votes of nine of ten Georgia blacks who registered a preference.

Still, analysts say it’s hard to tell how that may impact Tuesday’s contest.

“It doesn’t mean the overall turnout will be skewed,” said Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz. “It could just mean that there’s much less incentive to early vote this time, because no one’s expecting there to be long lines now.”

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel did not predict turnout for the contest, but the 1992 runoff attracted about 1.2 million voters – roughly half the turnout in that year’s general election.

Roughly 4 million people cast ballots in this year’s general election, and both sides have since tried to keep voters’ attention with a barrage of ads and visits by political heavy-hitters.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore both stumped for Martin. President-elect Barack Obama recorded a radio ad for Martin and sent 100 field operatives, but he didn’t campaign in the state despite a request from Martin to do so.

Several ex-Republican presidential candidates made appearances for Chambliss, including GOP nominee John McCain, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s vice presidential pick, held four rallies for Chambliss that drew thousands of party faithful Monday.

Saxby Chambliss: www.saxby.org

Jim Martin: www.martinforsenate.com

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin implored Georgia Republicans to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in his hotly contested Senate runoff, telling a cheering crowd Monday that the first step in rebuilding the GOP begins with the Southern state.

The former vice presidential candidate made her first campaign appearance since the Republican ticket of John McCain and Palin lost on Nov. 4. Palin’s four stops for Chambliss underscored not only the stakes for the GOP in the Senate race but Palin’s popularity within the party. She has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2012 – a fact not lost on some Georgia voters.

Several thousand supporters waited in the cold to file into the James Brown Arena in Augusta. Vendors sold bright pink “Palin 2012″ T-shirts and “Palin for President: You Go Girl” buttons.

She was greeted like a rock star with chants of “Sa-rah!” “Georgia the eyes of America are upon you,” the former vice presidential candidate said. “We all have Georgia on our minds.”

Chambliss is locked in a runoff with Democrat Jim Martin after neither crossed the 50 percent threshold in the general election.

The race will help determine the balance of power in Washington where Democrats are just two votes shy of the 60 votes needed to prevent Republican filibusters. Georgia is one of two undecided contests. A recount is under way in Minnesota in the tight race between Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken.

And she cast the Georgia runoff as the first step in rehabilitating the Republican Party, wounded by losses in November including the defeat of the McCain-Palin ticket.

“It takes rebuilding and I say let that begin here in Georgia tomorrow,” Palin said.

She touted Chambliss’ support for gun rights as well his opposition to abortion and tax hikes.

“We must send Saxby back to the United States Senate,” she said.

Palin said she has a soft spot for Georgia where her eldest son, Track, trained at Fort Benning before deploying to Iraq.

“You took good care of my son,” Palin said.

Martin is touring the state Monday with prominent Georgia Democrats, including Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta. He’ll cap the day with a state Capitol rally with the Atlanta hip hop artist Ludacris.

Martin had asked President-elect Barack Obama to campaign with him. Obama recorded a radio ad and automated phone calls on his behalf but never made it to the state. Some 100 Obama field operatives flocked to the state to help with turnout.

Palin is just the latest political star to enter the fray in Georgia’s heated runoff contest. It has also drawn McCain and GOP rivals Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, as well as Democrats Al Gore and former President Bill Clinton.

Georgia’s last U.S. Senate runoff was in 1992. Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler pulled more votes in the general election but lost to Republican Paul Coverdell in the runoff.