Tifton's Republican state Senator Joseph Carter is abandoning his re-election bid to run for an open Superior Court race, reports the Tifton Gazette.  When a candidate for the state legislature withdraws before the primary, his or her party cannot replace them on the ballot with someone else.  Because no other Republicans are running, this could have put this otherwise safe Republican seat into Democratic hands.

Luckily for the Republicans, the Georgia Democratic party was unable or unwilling to qualify a candidate here.  They also left the seat uncontested in 2006.  Assuming no independent candidate qualifies in the next week (anyone who can gather the approximately 4,000 signatures needed can have a seat in the Senate) the state is expected to re-open qualifying at some point in the near future, although the legal procedure to do so remains unclear.

Don't be surprised if state Rep. Austin Scott, currently locked in a tight rematch with an opponent who drew 46% of the vote in 2006 withdraws from his race after the primary and enters qualifying for the Senate seat.  Scott, a moderate Republican often at odds with the House leadership in the past would be able to easily hold the Senate seat for his party, averting a disaster.  If he withdraws from the House race after the primary, the Republicans can also replace him with another candidate.  One quirk: Scott's cousin, former Democratic Rep. Ray Holland of neighboring Ashburn was often said to have his eye on this Senate seat when it was held by Democrat (later Republican) Rooney Bowen.