It's a year when incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss should be looking at a tough fight for re-election —- and Georgia Democrats say he is vulnerable.

The economy is struggling, gas and food prices are soaring, and Chambliss has closely aligned himself with President Bush, whose job approval ratings are in the basement.

Before Democrats can challenge the GOP senator, they must first settle an under-the-radar political brawl within their own party.

Five Democrats, including controversial DeKalb County Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones and former WSB-TV investigative reporter Dale Cardwell —- whose reports sometimes focused on Jones —- have signed up to seek the party's nomination to run against Chambliss in November.

So far, the primary battle has not been pretty.

That fight, which has less than six weeks to go until the July 15 Democratic primary, moves into the spotlight today when the candidates confront each other in Atlanta in their first statewide forum.

The event, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Georgia and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, will be at the Capitol Education Center at 180 Central Ave. S.W. from 3 to 4:30 p.m. It will be carried live on the Georgia Public Broadcasting Web site and aired on GPB Radio at 8 p.m. Monday.

"I think it will be a Democratic year," former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes predicted in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "A lot of people think Saxby Chambliss can't be beat. But a lot of people thought I couldn't."

Barnes is backing a man who once worked for him: former Department of Human Resources chief Jim Martin, a veteran of 18 years in the General Assembly and most recently a failed candidate for lieutenant governor.

The Democratic race so far has been short of big issues and big on personal attacks. Most of the Democratic candidates have taken aim at Bush's economic and military policies but have not articulated specific alternatives on issues such as the war on terror or gas prices.

To get a sense of the tenor of the campaign, one only has to look at Martin's decision to run. Martin had barely announced his candidacy when he was set upon by the two candidates who independent polls show are leading the race, Jones and Cardwell.

Cardwell, who enjoys substantial name recognition because of his years on the airwaves, has labeled Martin a "Convenientcrat," a political retread trotted out by party officials because they do not want an outsider like Cardwell carrying the party's banner in November. Cardwell has been endorsed by former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, who has said voters want a clean break from the past.

Jones has been even more blunt about Martin's candidacy, which he also contends has been staged by party officials.

"The Democratic Party loves to recruit losers," Jones said after qualifying for the race. Jones, who characterized himself as a "conservative Democrat" —- he has said he twice voted for Bush —- has declared Martin "too liberal" for Georgia.

State party officials deny they had anything to do with Martin's entry into the race.

"We are not in that kind of business," said state Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kidd.

However, the national Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on its Web site stresses Martin's candidacy, while all but ignoring other Democrats in the race.

"Democrat Jim Martin, a former Georgia General Assembly member and 2006 candidate for lieutenant governor, has announced his candidacy," according to the Web site. "There are a number of other candidates, including DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones."

The site does not mention Cardwell or two other Democratic contenders, Rand Knight and Josh Lanier. That did not stop the state AFL-CIO from endorsing Knight, a blow to the Martin campaign. Major Democrats have in the past relied on union endorsements as a key underpinning to their campaigns.

Martin quickly dismisses the idea that party officials talked him into the race. He has vowed to stay clear of attacks on other Democratic candidates unless his record is assailed.

"I have an 18-year record on working on the issues that voters care about," Martin said in an interview, referring to his time in the Legislature. "What the people are really concerned about is the price of gas and the direction Bush has taken this country."

Jones is counting on a heavy turnout by black voters —- he is the only African American in the race —- to propel him to the party's nomination. African Americans make up about half the state's Democratic Party voters.

Cardwell is running a grass-roots campaign, refusing to take money from political action committees and positioning himself as a reformer and political outsider.

Cardwell and Jones, when not busy attacking Martin, have taken aim at each other. Cardwell has blasted the CEO for backing Bush and refers to Jones as "a Republican in sheep's clothing."

"I never wanted to be a politician," Cardwell said in an interview. "I'm just a guy who got fed up with politicians lying to us."

Jones did not return more than a half dozen calls over a three-day period requesting an interview for this story.

State party officials, including Kidd, say there is a good chance the heated Democratic contest will not be decided July 15. If no candidate gets a majority, there will be a runoff three weeks later.

"I do think there is a high probability of a runoff in this race."

Chambliss, meanwhile, will not attend today's forum in Atlanta, and will stay clear of confrontations with the Democrats until they settle their own fight.

"He's not going to be there because we don't have an opponent," said Chambliss spokeswoman Michelle Hitt Grasso. "When the fall comes there will be lots of opportunity for him to debate whoever the Democratic candidate is."