Vernon Jones and Jim Martin have survived Round 1 of the race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination.

With 99 percent of the votes counted, Jones, the DeKalb County CEO, had 40 percent to former lawmaker Martin's 34 percent. Former WSB-TV reporter Dale Cardwell was the only other candidate in double digits. Retired businessman Josh Lanier and Atlanta businessman Rand Knight brought up the rear.

As expected, Tuesday seemed to be more about winnowing rather than winning. It was always doubtful that any candidate in the largely low-key race would draw the 50 percent plus 1 required to avoid a runoff. The candidates finishing first and second would then compete in a runoff Aug. 5.

On Wednesday morning, Vernon Jones turned up at Fox's Good Day Atlanta studio to talk about the Senate race. He repeated the pitch he made Tuesday about being in the "playoffs," saying that the runoff will "give me the opportunity to get ready for the Superbowl."

Jones dropped a few names, saying it was time to bring back both "the Reagan Democrats," the "Sam Nunn Democrats," to Washington.

Saxby Chambliss also appeared on the Fox show, congratulating his opponents and adding that he "looked forward to a spirited campaign in the fall."

The two rivals agreed on one point: when asked about early polls that show Jones trailing the incumbent Chambliss by more than 30 points, both men demurred.

Jones dismissed the numbers, saying "it will all come together."

Chambliss's take?

"You can't put much stock in the polls."

Speaking to supporters at his Peachtree Road headquarters Tuesday night, Jones said he was "humbled" by the results.

"People all over responded to our message," he said.

Bill McCloud, 70, a volunteer on Jones' campaign, was celebrating with him.

"He's the best candidate; he works harder. ... He's more than qualified to do what has to be done."

Martin vowed to wake up this morning and begin again.

"We'll continue to do what we've been doing," he said. "We feel like we have the momentum and will continue what we've been doing, talking about taking care of working-class Georgians and people who are struggling."

The eventual Democratic nominee will face the Republican incumbent, U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, and Libertarian Allen Buckley in November.

Martin and Jones are the only ones who have made substantial television advertising buys, and Cardwell ran a full day's worth of spots on WSB and on the top Macon station Monday. With Martin holding a distinct advantage in fund-raising, Cardwell carved out an edge as a crusader against the influence of money in politics.

The closeness of the race sets up Cardwell as a potential king-maker in the runoff, although he said late Tuesday he wasn't ready to admit final defeat.

"I'm very close to making that decision," he said. "Obviously, I'm solidly in third. I think my strength is DeKalb County, but I said I would always tell people the truth, and right now it looks like a third-place finish."

Lanier conceded by 9:30 p.m. that his long-shot campaign, which featured no advertising, no mail pieces, no campaign literature or campaign money of any kind, was over.

"Frankly, I'm looking at some of the numbers and I'm stunned," Lanier said. "Thank you for everyone who voted for me."

Whoever emerges with the nomination will run into a buzz saw in Chambliss. The incumbent has more than 4 million reasons to feel confident. That's the dollar amount he's raised for his re-election.

The Democratic nominee has to hope that excitement about Democratic presidential nominee-to-be Barack Obama can drive turnout on the left to unprecedented heights and cause supporters to loosen their wallets for the party's nominee.

Several DeKalb voters said Tuesday that they turned out specifically to vote against Jones.

Sharonda Frazier was especially turned off by a flier that Jones mailed out that made it look as if he and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama were speaking together.

Jones admitted his campaign digitally altered the photos but said he did so because he and Obama share a vision for their campaigns.

Critics, though, said the move was an attempt to mislead voters into thinking Obama had endorsed a man who announced that he twice voted for Republican George W. Bush.

"I was very disappointed in Vernon Jones and how he connected himself to Barack Obama instead of running on his record," Frazier said, with her 6-month-old son Ryan, in tow. Frazier voted early Tuesday morning at Avondale Estates City Hall. She supported Cardwell.

— Staff writers Andrea Jones, April Hunt and Karen Rosen contributed to this report.