Senate Democrats’ best hope may be Ga. GOP primary

WASHINGTON — A lengthy and divisive Republican Senate primary playing out in Georgia is fueling Democratic optimism for a victory that could fend off a GOP takeover of the U.S. Senate.

It’s become a familiar problem for Republicans in recent elections: An unpredictable primary forces candidates to the right, only to make it harder for the winner to appeal to a broader swath of voters come November.

“I think it is Republicans to lose, but as we know from what’s happened in 2010 and 2012, Republicans can do that,” said Charles Bullock, a political scientist at the University of Georgia.

Bullock was referencing Senate races in Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Missouri and Nevada in which Republicans were favored to win but lost due to weak candidates who prevailed in competitive primaries.

In the Peach State, a seven-way primary fight is providing months of GOP infighting, public gaffes and no clear front-runner to take on Democrat Michelle Nunn, who is certain to win her party’s nomination in the May 20 primary. Further complicating the GOP campaign is a Georgia election law that will trigger a July 22 runoff election if no candidate gets at least 50% of the vote —and so far, no candidate has polled above 30%.

As Republicans face the prospect of three more months of intraparty battles, Nunn is traveling the state, setting up a grassroots network, and raising a formidable campaign war chest to use in the general election. She reported Tuesday that she raised $2.4 million in the first three months of the year.

Polling in the GOP primary has been inconsistent and unreliable, but businessman David Perdue and GOP Rep. Jack Kingston appear to have the advantage heading into the May vote.

Perdue has the wealth to fund his own campaign and benefits from name recognition as a cousin to former Republican governor Sonny Perdue. Kingston reported a healthy $1.1 million haul in the first quarter of the year and has honed his retail politics after 22 years in Congress.

GOP Reps. Phil Gingrey and Paul Broun, as well as former secretary of State Karen Handel are also in the hunt for the nomination and have varying degrees of support from conservative activists and Tea Party aligned groups. Handel, for instance, was recently endorsed by Sarah Palin.

Broun and Gingrey are Tea Party favorites, but both have a history of controversial statements that could alienate critical white, suburban women voters, particularly in the heavily populated Atlanta suburbs that will be decisive in determining the general election.

via Senate Democrats’ best hope may be Ga. GOP primary.