Democrat Enters Senate Race

Democrat Branko Radulovacki announced last week he will run for Saxby Chambliss’ senate seat. A psychiatrist from Atlanta, he is the first Democrat to vie for the position. Radulovacki came to the county at the age of seven and holds degrees in economics and Russian and an MBA in finance and marketing. He is also the founder Faithworks, a non-profit that helps religious groups tie with mental health providers, and has also raised money for colon cancer, being a survivor himself.

The announcement, though, appeared to steal the thunder of Michelle Nunn, the expected Democrat candidate. Nunn, daughter of former Georgia state senator Sam Nunn, was one of the few names circulating in Democratic circles prior to last week. As CEO of the non-profit Points of Light, Nunn could be seen as a moderate, although she seems quiet on her stance on certain issues and making a decision to run for senate.

Radulovacki, the lone Democrat in the race, is off to a half-hearted start, though. In a statement following his announcement he said at this point he doesn’t have a political platform, but said he supports President Obama.

“My immediate goal is for voters to get to know me and what I have done and to hear their concerns,”

he said according to report from the Rome News Tribune.
In this same report the doctor said he doesn’t have the financial means to fund the entire campaign, so for now he will continue to practice medicine rather than run as a fulltime candidate.

This could pose a problem, however, for the doctor as he faces four strong candidates on the other side of the aisle who already have a healthy head-start. Congressman Paul Broun was the first to announce in the wake of Chambliss’ retirement. Broun, a U.S. Congressman since 2007, has been campaigning since February. Congressman Phil Gingrey has been running since March and Rep Jack Kingston since May. And, more recently Former Georgia Secretary of State also announced her candidacy in the middle of last month.

On the Republican side, the candidates have been stumping and shaking hands with voters around the state in serious, full-time campaign efforts for several months now. As such, a part-time effort on the doctor’s part will only put him and his party farther behind in the race. The pallid move underscores recent comments by one of the areas top political pundits and radio talk show host Martha Zoller.

In a recent interview with FYN, Zoller called it a big leap to say the Georgia senate seat could go Democrat. On the prospect of Nunn running, Zoller calls Nunn an unknown quantity.

“If all they’re really looking at is the children and grandchildren of previously elected Democrats in Georgia,”

she said,

“then they’re still in serious trouble from a party standpoint.”

If Nunn was an unknown quantity, then how much more of an unknown quantity is Radulovacki?