Senator Saxbe Chambliss says that the appearances of Sarah Palin in the last week of his campaign "allowed us to peak" at the right time and credits her with energizing the Republican base in the state:

Fresh off his runoff victory Tuesday night, Georgia Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss credited Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin with firing up his base.

"I can't overstate the impact she had down here," Chambliss said during an interview Wednesday morning on Fox News.

"When she walks in a room, folks just explode," he added. "And they really did pack the house everywhere we went. She's a dynamic lady, a great administrator, and I think she's got a great future in the Republican Party." 

Chambliss said that after watching her campaign on his behalf at several events Monday, he does not see her star status diminishing within the party.

The Republican also thanked John McCain and the other big name Republicans that came to Georgia, but said Palin made the biggest impact.

"We had John McCain and Mike Huckabee and Gov. Romney and Rudy Giuliani, but Sarah Palin came in on the last day, did a fly-around and, man, she was dynamite," he said. "We packed the houses everywhere we went. And it really did allow us to peak and get our base fired up."