Candidates begin final election push across Georgia

David Perdue reclined briefly in a recreational vehicle adorned with his name as it rumbled through Atlanta’s southern exurbs, heading to stop three of six for the day.

“Adrenaline is a great thing,” he said, when asked about his energy level after a year and a half on the campaign trail. “You just get in a routine and just go.”

The final sprint to Nov. 4 is on for the candidates atop the electoral ticket in Georgia this year.

Perdue, a Republican businessman running for the U.S. Senate, launched his RV tour Thursday, while his Democratic rival, Michelle Nunn, will employ her trusty minivan.

Gov. Nathan Deal is venturing from the mountains of Blairsville to sunny St. Simons Island to make his pitch to voters. His Democratic challenger, Jason Carter, plans to go even farther, with a stop in Jacksonville, Fla., ahead of the Georgia-Florida game.

They’re flooding the airwaves in a costly ad blitz. They’re inundating mailboxes and websites with fliers and tidbits. And there are three more debates — one for the governor’s race and two for the Senate campaign — scheduled in the next 10 days.

With two Libertarians on the ballot, it’s possible no candidate will draw the required majority of the vote, forcing separate runoffs in December and January. While political operatives are discussing runoff strategies, the candidates profess tunnel vision.

“I haven’t let myself think about anything — personal life, regular life — almost anything except Nov. 4,” Perdue said. “I’ve got that clearly in sight.”

Nunn’s closing pitch is heavy on vows of old-school compromise and bipartisanship. She debuted an ad with her father, popular former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, on Thursday and appeared with him and former Gov. Zell Miller in Young Harris.

“I have both sought his advice, and he’s also given it freely,” Michelle Nunn said in a brief sit-down with her dad. “That’s been true for 47 years, but it’s never been so true than in the last year. I have a great adviser in him.”

Carter’s across-the-state adventure also seeks to turn voters out to the polls in November — or sooner. He went on radio host Rickey Smiley’s syndicated program Thursday to urge listeners to vote early so they could tune out the ads over the next few weeks.

Smiley seemed equally interested in Carter’s musical taste. The Democrat listens mostly to country now, he said, but is a fan of old-school hip-hop such as “Jungle Brothers.”

Smiley seemed to approve; he closed the interview by calling Carter his “homeboy” and urged his audience to turn out for the candidate.

Their tours complement an ad blitz that's already raged through the year. Carter and Deal have spent almost $15 million boosting themselves and tearing down the other guy, according to the Center of Public Integrity. That's chump change compared with spending on the Senate race, where nearly $40 million has flooded the airwaves.

In the closing stretch, the candidates will increasingly rely on surrogates. Former President Jimmy Carter stumped for his grandson at a faith forum Thursday on St. Simons Island, and stops in Atlanta are on the books. Former first lady and all-but-certain presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will help Nunn raise money Saturday.

Past and future White House aspirants U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are all scheduled to join Perdue in Georgia over the next week — starting Friday afternoon in McDonough with Paul.

And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is set to return to Georgia on Nov. 1 to make a final pitch for Deal.

Turning off your TV and tuning out the radio won't help. Both parties are ratcheting up their direct-mail pitches. The Republican Governors Association has pumped nearly $1 million into mailers for Deal's campaign.

Some of those mailers have taken on a dire tone. Republican leaflets warn that a vote for Carter is a vote for President Barack Obama's health care law. And Georgia Democrats point to the unrest over an unarmed black man's shooting death in Ferguson, Mo., with a mailer opening with: "If you want to prevent another Ferguson in their future …"

And the candidates hope personal interactions across the state — with people who will tell their neighbors and friends — are enough to put them over the top.

The governor said his tour, which begins Friday evening in Marietta, will be a throwback to the time when retail politics ruled. It will take him to greasy diners, courthouse squares and coffee shops in every corner of the state.

“That’s the way politics should be,” he said Thursday in an interview. “I think people appreciate it when you make the effort to come close to where they are, shake your hand, look you in the face and ask you questions. It’s a chance to see people up close and personal.”