As GOP runoff rages, Michelle Nunn says she's building a 'grassroots army'
As the longest GOP runoff in state history heads into the home stretch, Democrat Michelle Nunn is quietly raising thousands of supporters for her own campaign.
Nunn's campaign said it has enlisted more than 3,000 volunteers to help her contest against the eventual winner of the July 22 runoff between Rep. Jack Kingston and businessman David Perdue.
"We are building a grassroots army," Nunn said at a recent campaign stop at an Atlanta restaurant. "I think there's a lot of excitement, and we make sure we're getting everybody to participate. It's good for Georgia and it's good for democracy. We're building a really broad coalition - some of them are long-time Democrats and some are people who have never voted Democrat."
Nunn's campaign is trying to attract more moderates and conservatives by backing centrist issues designed with bipartisan appeal in mind, such as new limits on lobbying. It's a contrast from the strategy of fellow Democrat Jason Carter, whose gubernatorial campaign is more aggressively embracing the party line.
Nunn, a nonprofit executive, said she has no preference in her eventual opponent, and her campaign isn't publicly trying to shape the race. Behind the scenes, most Democrats are saying they would rather run against Kingston - and against Congress - but Nunn seems content to wait it out.
Said Nunn:
"They've been largely attacking one another, as we've said, in a race to the extremes. I haven't been analyzing their race, but I'm ready for whoever emerges. I just got back from traveling across the state, and talking about businesses like this, and what happens when people actually work together, and what we can accomplish to get things done. And I don't hear any of that on the Republican primary side."
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
