…and run against Congressman Hank Johnson according to InsiderAdvantage Georgia.

None of the Democratic candidates have been fairing well in polls vs. incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss as of late. At last inspection, DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones was running at 31% vs. Chambliss’ 56%.

Presumably these unpromising polls have got the Jones campaign looking to alternatives. Enter this story.

According to strategists for Jones, Congressman Hank Johnson is now reportedly trying to get Kathie Gannon into the DeKalb County Commission CEO presiding officer seat with the help of lone Republican booster mom Elaine Boyer. Democratic crisis! Someone activate the bat signal!

From InsiderAdvantage…

…strategist Kenneth Walker said he’s got information that Hank Johnson is lobbying for Kathie Gannon and has teamed up in that endeavor with Elaine Boyer, the lone Republican on the DeKalb Commission.

That’s a sign, says Walker, that there’s a new effort to broaden Republican influence in DeKalb County and that Johnson, a Democrat, supports it.

“We are going to ask Vernon to reassess running for the U.S. Senate and run against Hank so we can stop this potential erosion of Democratic strength,” said Walker.

Seems like Vernon is trying to create a reason to get out of an extremely challenging Senate race.

With 8 of 9 precincts reporting, it looks like Jim Baskett has been reelected as Decatur’s Commissoner-at-large with 55% of the vote.   It was a surprisingly close race, considering that Alvin McNeely’s main argument for election was “I really, really want it!”.  Perhaps there were some unstated reasons why some would choose McNeely over Baskett, but I had a hard time picking up on them.

Across the rest of DeKalb the headline is “Tough night for Incumbents!” as several mayors got the ax.  This included Avondale Estates incumbent Jerry McCumber, who was ousted by challenger Ed Rieker.  Both candidates voiced support for the city’s redevelopment plan, but recent criticism against McCumber about secret meetings with the DOT and the developer may have led to his defeat.

Click here for all DeKalb election results