Senate control hinges on fate of Southern Dems – News Politics – Boston.com

GEORGIA ON MY MIND

Republicans nervously watch the Georgia primary free-for-all, which includes no less than three House members vying for the open Senate seat.

Conservative Rep. Paul Broun has said evolution and the Big Bang theory are ‘‘lies straight from the pit of Hell.’’ Rep. Phil Gingrey, an OB-GYN since 1975, backtracked earlier this year after saying former Rep. Todd Akin was ‘‘partly right’’ when he said during his failed Senate race in Missouri last year that women’s bodies can avoid pregnancy in cases of ‘‘legitimate rape.’’ Rep. Jack Kingston, a conservative, has emerged as the moderate.

Other Republicans are expected to join the field.

Georgia rules set the primary for next June, but if no candidate gets 50 percent, a runoff occurs in early August, a late date that could leave the GOP with a roughed-up nominee.

Democrats recruited Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn and CEO of Points of Light, the volunteer organization founded by President George H.W. Bush.

Democrats hope the Nunn name still resonates in the state nearly 20 years after the senator retired. The challenge is clear: No non-incumbent Democrat has won a major statewide race in Georgia since Gov. Roy Barnes in 1998.

via Senate control hinges on fate of Southern Dems – News Politics – Boston.com.