Not the Democratic side. That remains an embarrassing disaster.

We're talking about the Republican contest.

The campaign of Johnny Isakson on Thursday passed around some points from his well-known Washington pollster, Linda DiVall.

Any candidate poll that reaches the public eye is by definition self-serving. And Isakson's is no different. His name ID is high, his favorability ratings are unassailable. Ho-hum.

The real news in the Isakson survey is that his two opponents -- U.S. Rep. Mac Collins and millionaire entrepreneur Herman Cain -- are in a statistical dead heat for second place.

A conservative African-American who made his fortune with the Godfather's pizza chain, Cain has spent the last six weeks -- and a great deal of money -- on Georgia television trying to shed his "nobody" status and define himself as a conservative purist.

It seems to be working. It also seems that Cain's gains are coming out of Collins' hide.

"I'm getting three or four pieces of mail a month from Herman Cain," said Rusty Paul, the former state GOP chairman. "He's pounding the Republican base with direct mail. He's going after Mac Collins' bread-and-butter."

Collins' staffers couldn't endorse Isakson's poll. But their actions indicate they don't dispute the general sense of the numbers.

Earlier this week, the Collins campaign drew specific attention to Cain's stand on affirmative action, charging that Cain favors "quotas." A review of past statements shows that Cain favors affirmative action as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer, but opposes quotas.

Then, on Thursday, Collins charged both his opponents with spreading rumors that he would pull out of the race soon. Denials all around, of course, but Cain's campaign was delighted to be accused.

Both Collins and Cain now agree that they're in a race for second place in the July 20 primary -- and the chance to deal Isakson a killing blow in a runoff.

"We always have thought we'd be faced with a runoff situation," Collins spokeswoman Carolyn Hern said. "We can't discount Herman Cain. He's been in the state campaigning every day. He hasn't been in Washington, doing the people's business."

No one smart is writing off Collins. He's been around too long, his base is too loyal, and he's got nowhere else to go. Moreover, the doings in the state Legislature have soaked up much of the attention of GOP true believers. And there's the fact that Cain has yet to be scoured by opposition research.

Still, the third man in this Republican race for the U.S. Senate -- an African-American and a rookie -- has reshaped the race, making inroads in the most unexpected places.

In South Georgia, two middle-aged women are the most influential figures in Republican politics. Kay Godwin of Blackshear and Pat Tippett of Baxley work as a team, networking every county south of Macon. They were crucial to Sonny Perdue's grass-roots formula for victory in 2002, and are considered the gateway to social conservatives in the region. Godwin is now chairman of the state GOP's committee for counties under 80,000 -- which covers 132 of Georgia's 159 counties, most of them rural.

Both Godwin and Tippett are signed on with Cain. "He's a motivator and a true believer. He's a changer," said Godwin, a former Collins supporter.

Hern, the Collins spokeswoman, said the impact of Godwin's switch won't be dramatic: "All of the people she brought to the Collins organization -- all of those folks are still with us."

But if a German shepherd should try to pat you down, please cooperate

The following note from the governor's office was passed around the state Capitol on Thursday:

Please be advised on Monday, March 29 at 10:30 there will be a military dog van parked at the guard shack. This is not to cause alarm or concern (as it did last year). The dogs are here to participate in [a] proclamation signing and will pose for a picture with the Governor .