Max Burns (born November 8, 1948), American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005, representing the 12th District of Georgia. 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.
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 is 40 lack, and the territory currently in the district would have voted for Al Gore by a large margin in 2000. Burns 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 11-point margin.
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
o 48åP> After leaving office, Burns returned to a teaching job at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, teaching a class on technology and government policy. In May 2005, Burns announced that he would seek a rematch against Barrow in the newly redrawn 12th district. The newly drawn 12th, however, is considered to be slightly more Democratic than its predecessor.
