MAX BURNS

'O. Maxie "Max" Burns' (born November 8 1948) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005, representing .
He was born in Millen, Georgia, was educated at Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University (Ph.D.) and served in the United States Army Reserve. He was a professor at Georgia Southern University for 20 years.

Contents

2002 election

2004 Election

2006 Election

External links

2002 election

The 12th District was a new district, one of two Georgia gained after the 2000 census. The district was designed as a Democratic stronghold — it was 40% black, and would have voted for Al Gore by a large margin in 2000. Burns won the Republican primary, but was initially seen as a "sacrificial lamb" candidate, given his extremely conservative profile. However, the Democratic candidate, Augusta businessman Charles "Champ" Walker, Jr., was dogged by ethical questions and began losing ground during the summer. Eventually, Burns won by a surprising 10-point margin (55% for Burns to 45% for Walker).

2004 Election

Burns was elected president of the Republican freshman class, but was a top Democratic target in the 2004 elections. His 2004 Democratic opponent was Athens-Clarke County Commissioner John Barrow, who beat Burns 52% to 48%.
Burns' re-election campaign had more than its fair share of problems. In his hometown at a fundraiser, Burns did nothing when a supporter on stage referred to a Democratic candidate as "that Jew boy down in Savannah" [1]. And Burns was accused of illegally firing his chief of staff after getting pressure from the National Republican Congressional Committee [2]. Burns denied the charge but both stories dominated headlines for several weeks and other staffers soon left.
After leaving office, Burns became a lobbyist for a Washington, D.C. lobbying firm.

2006 Election

In May 2005, Burns announced that he would seek a rematch against Barrow in the newly redrawn 12th district, which is slightly more Republican than its predecessor. It now included several Republican-leaning Savannah suburbs that had been part of the 1st District.
With official results completed, Barrow narrowly defeated Burns, 50.3% to 49.7%. While Burns won 14 of the district's 22 counties, he lost badly in the two largest counties, Chatham and Richmond, home to Savannah and Augusta respectively. He did not concede defeat until November 16.

External links

★ Max Burns for U.S. Congress

★ Blogging for Max

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★ "Curb Your Enthusiasm" — ''The Rothenberg Political Report''