The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that “Georgia’s seemingly endless U.S. Senate runoff finally winds down Monday, its last day marked by high-profile rallies, withering attack ads and stealthy efforts to get campaign-weary voters back to the polls.” Alaska governor and former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin will appear with incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss at four rallies. Democratic challenger Jim Martin will spend the day on a statewide bus tour that will take him from Atlanta in the morning to Augusta, then Macon and back to a rally at the state Capitol with civil rights veterans and hip-hop star Ludacris.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Houston Mayor Bill White has been deflecting questions about his political future, which could include a run for the Senate or governor. A slot in the Cabinet of President-elect Barack Obama was thought to be a possibility for White, a former deputy secretary of Energy. But with that possibility “seeming more remote,” the newspaper reports, “White is preparing to put speculation to rest with a definitive answer soon, perhaps this month, aides said.” A run for Senate would happen if Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns her seat to run for governor; White could also decide to run for the state’s top job himself. According to the Chronicle, the “chattering classes in Austin and Houston” say that if White makes either move, he may have “an uphill battle ahead.”

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports that early voting “was brisk in advance of the Dec. 6 elections that will determine who will fill the last two of Louisiana’s seven congressional seats, Secretary of State Jay Dardenne said Wednesday.” In the 4th District, Democrat Paul Carmouche and Republican John Fleming are battling it out. In the 2nd District, Democratic Rep. William J. Jefferson is up for re-election among a field of lesser known challengers. Nearly 10,000 people have voted early so far, in both elections combined, according to the newspaper.