He leads Congressman Paul Broun by a 57/14 margin in a head to head, has a 50/22 advantage over Congressman Tom Price, and leads former Secretary of State Karen Handel 52/23. Despite his largely conservative record, Chambliss has attracted conservative ire for his interest in bipartisan compromise. By far and away the Republican who would pose the greatest threat to Chambliss in a primary, if he changed his mind about running, is Herman Cain.
– Saxby Chambliss will announce today that he doesn't intend to run for re-election when his Senate term ends in 2014, sources tell the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Chambliss reportedly told his senior staff about the decision this morning. Chambliss was considered one of the Republicans most ripe for a primary challenge, the Washington Post observes, thanks to his track record of bipartisan compromise and recent break with Grover Norquist. Potential successors are sure to come out of the woodwork now. Two House members, Paul Broun and Tom Price, had already been considering primary challenges, and more, including Phil Gingrey and Tom Graves, are likely to consider throwing their hats in now. But there are also some bigger name possibilities: A recent poll, for instance, shows that Herman Cain would have trounced Chambliss in a primary, meaning he would be an early favorite if he decided to run.