Nunn’s opponents in Georgia primary remain hopeful despite long odds

“We need change in Washington and I plan to do that,” one of the candidates, Atlanta psychiatrist Branko Radulovacki, said at a campaign stop this week. “Georgia needs a new senator, but Washington really needs a psychiatrist.”

He and two other candidates, Steen Miles and Todd Robinson, irked the party establishment when they didn't clear the field for Nunn, a nonprofit executive with a famous pedigree. Nunn has raised $6.6 million since entering the race in August and unleashed a steady barrage of ads to prepare for a well-financed GOP opponent.

But her opponents warn that she shouldn’t look beyond this month’s contest.

“We’re looking for an upset. We’re getting feedback from rank-and-file Democrats that our message has been resonating,” said Miles, an ex-TV anchor who goes by the nickname “Newslady.” “We’ve been out there for months going to every hill and hamlet in Georgia.”

‘This is about Georgia’

Republicans need a net gain of six seats to retake the U.S. Senate, and losing the spot held by retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss would make the GOP’s path more arduous. Most Democrats have laid their bets on Nunn, the daughter of former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, who has tapped her father’s network for donors and counsel.

She is already running what amounts to a centrist general election campaign that focuses on crowd-pleasing proposals, such as a pledge to meet with every senator her first year. Her advertisements don't mention she's a Democrat; in fact, they note her association with former President George H. W. Bush, who felt compelled to announce he wouldn't endorse her.

At a visit to her hometown of Perry, she showed visitors the house where her grandfather lived and the street corner where her dad was beat up on the first day of kindergarten. She talked of a grass-roots campaign that hearkened to her father’s first gutsy bid for higher office.

“I’m going to be in Macon and I’m going to be in Perry and Valdosta,” Nunn said. “That’s where it’s going to be won or lost, not in the national halls of Washington. For me, this is about Georgians and this is about Georgia.”

She’s been tarred by opponents who criticize her for ducking all but one campaign debate, an Atlanta Press Club event she’s attending Sunday. They also say her attempt at crossover appeal — she peppers her statements with ways in which she agrees with Republican stances — are a sign that she shouldn’t be anointed by the party elite.

Yet the centrist talk is seen as crucial for Nunn to pull off a Democratic victory in a state where Republicans hold all statewide offices, including both U.S. Senate seats. Even with a rising minority population and an influx of other newcomers, Nunn’s campaign says it needs to attract conservative-leaning independent voters to win the race.

Crossover and ‘collaboration’

Most of the Democratic elite in Georgia and Washington have lined up behind her. And while the state party can’t officially pick favorites, leaders have made clear that Nunn is their choice. As speakers at the party’s Jefferson-Jackson fundraiser last month openly touted Nunn’s candidacy, her rivals quietly sat across the room.

As the five top Republican contenders compete in an increasingly bitter primary, the Georgia GOP is amping up the attacks on Nunn. The party created a "Nunn on the Run" website with an animated Nunn that runs across the screen to detail her fundraising trips across the nation. State GOP Chairman John Padgett said it was a reminder that Nunn "is not one of us."

The trio of Democratic challengers are gutting it out. Fulton County Commission Chairman John Eaves predicts the May 20 turnout will hover around 20 percent, and Nunn’s challengers hope the depressed showing gives them a chance to magnify their support.

“I’m not concerned or in the least bit intimidated by her money or her father’s name,” said Miles, who reminds voters at campaign stops that she’s the only Democrat in the race with legislative experience. “That message is resonating with people. We can ill afford, with so much at stake, to send a political neophyte to Washington. I can hit the ground running.”

Robinson, a teacher and retired Army Ranger from Columbus, calls himself a “conservative Democrat” who vows to fight for more tax breaks for military families and day care help for tech school students. He’s also pledged to make an overhaul of the welfare system a top issue.

Radulovacki, a physician who goes by the name “Dr. Rad,” has focused his campaign on the benefits of Obamacare. He tells audiences he’s the only physician in the Senate race who wholeheartedly supports the health care overhaul. (The two Republican candidates who are doctors, U.S. Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey, both want to scrap the law.)

At a southwest Atlanta senior center, about 150 residents gave Radulovacki polite applause as he introduced his campaign. Several said they had never heard of the lanky psychiatrist, and they asked one another about his party affiliation and whether he was seeking what one called “Nunn’s seat.”

“I haven’t really paid attention,” said Marshell Brown, a 72-year-old retired Atlanta teacher. “I’m going to be frank with you. I haven’t kept up with it.”

Radulovacki, for one, seems unfazed by the long odds. As the event closed, he joined an awkward square dance as seniors decked in bluejeans and gaudy ribbons twirled around him. He gamely danced on.

He knows he’ll have to keep up the fancy footwork if he has a shot at defeating Nunn.