Nunn’s entry into Senate race kicks off tug-of-war to define her

Education: Master’s in public administration, Harvard University; Bachelor’s degree, University of Virginia

Occupation: CEO of volunteer service organization Points of Light

Political experience: None

Family: Married 12 years to Ron Martin; two children

Website: www.michellenunn.com

The quest to define Michelle Nunn’s political persona began in earnest Tuesday as she made her formal entry into Georgia’s U.S. Senate race.

The Democrat and daughter of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn cast herself as a bridge-builder in an introductory interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. By midday Tuesday, in an interview with Channel 2 Action News, she was casting off as “spurious” the Republican charge that she was just another liberal ally of D.C. Democrats.

Nunn’s entry solidified Georgia’s Senate race as one that will be nationally watched and hard-fought for the next 15 months. The immediate task for Nunn, a political newcomer and CEO of the Points of Light volunteer service nonprofit, is to introduce herself to voters – before Republicans do it for her.

“It’s a blank slate, but both parties have a pen,” said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, who handicapped the race as leaning Republican Tuesday and said she could see it becoming a tossup by next fall.

Nunn will tour Georgia with her husband and two children in August. Georgia Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson said he encouraged her to talk a lot about her philanthropic background, building Hands on Atlanta into a powerhouse and then merging it with Points of Light, which was started by President George H.W. Bush.

“She’s fresh and she’s new, and I think Georgians are looking for an independent voice in Washington to bring new ideas,” Johnson said.

Immediately after Nunn’s Monday announcement, Republicans in Georgia and Washington sought to paint her as an ally of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Barack Obama. On Monday, Reid praised Nunn at a conference for Organizing for Action, Obama’s post-campaign apparatus. National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Brad Dayspring predicted that the video clip would be used as a GOP commercial.

The campaign of Karen Handel, one of four declared Republicans in the race, sent out a picture of Nunn and Obama with their arms around each other. U.S. Reps. Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun labeled her as a “liberal,” while U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston called her another vote for Reid and Obama.

But Nunn’s lack of a political track record gives little for the opposition to latch on to at this point.

“It’s an advantage because she doesn’t have a voting record,” Duffy said. “She doesn’t have something for Republicans to pick apart like that.”

Republicans’ initial dive into Nunn’s record involved a 2010 audit by the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service. The audit claimed that, between 2005 and 2009, Points of Light improperly spent or did not have the right documentation for more than $46,000 of federal money. The organization took in about $32 million in federal match funds during that span, and Nunn did not take over as CEO until 2007.

The NRSC also noted that Points of Light received money from the 2009 stimulus law for AmeriCorps positions.

“We found it very interesting that Michelle Nunn is centering her campaign around the deficit when she requested and misspent Obama stimulus money and her lone experience for Senate, beyond her name, is running an organization that the federal inspector general says spends funds poorly,” Dayspring said.

Nunn spokesman Zac Petkanas, a former Reid aide, replied: “These kinds of blind partisan attacks are not only inaccurate but exactly what’s wrong with Washington.” He added that Points of Light “has been recognized for its transparency, accountability and fiscal stewardship, receiving the highest rating from Charity Navigator — America’s leading independent charity evaluator.”

Nunn’s most obvious tie is to her father, a four-term centrist Democrat who retired in 1996 as one of Georgia’s political legends. A hawk on national security and social conservative from Perry, Sam Nunn was a Democrat of a different era.

“She does have a great political family name, but more than half the voters in Georgia have never voted for a Nunn,” said Georgia Republican strategist Joel McElhannon. “It’s not like there’s this big Nunn political machine out there that’s ready to go.”

McElhannon also predicted that, as a political neophyte, Michelle Nunn “is bound to make a number of mistakes.”

Nunn has some primary opposition. Democrats Branko Radulovacki of Atlanta, Todd Robinson of Columbus and John Coyne of Alpharetta have announced runs, and more could follow.

But leading Democrats are trying to close ranks to rally the party behind Nunn. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in Washington was already touting her candidacy Tuesday, and the Nunn campaign released the names of prominent supporters including former President Jimmy Carter, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, U.S. Rep. John Lewis, former Gov. Roy Barnes, former U.S. Sen. Max Cleland and former Mayor Andrew Young.

Democrat Charles Hill, 59, a teacher and author from St. Simons Island, said the timing might be right for Nunn.

“The name recognition helps,” Hill said. “It may be the year of the woman, too. I’d put even money on her. It’s an open seat. The fact that it’s open I think it’s anybody’s ball game. Obama did well in this state. He didn’t carry it, but he did pretty well.

“She’s going to be a red state Democrat [so not a liberal]. Now is a good time.”

Patrick Mayer, 35, a Marietta Republican, said the Nunn name has lost its power over the years and that he expects the “Obama machine” to make the race competitive but not enough to tip the balance.

“In the end, it breaks down to political demographics,” Mayer said. The Georgia moderate vote “for the last decade has been swinging Republican. And the next … 14 months isn’t really going to change that much.”

Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed.