Nunn Must Tap All Georgians

The U.S. Senate race in Georgia will feature Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue in a hard-fought contest down to the wire.

Democrats picked Nunn out of necessity.  Her father,  Sam Nunn,  served the state in the United States Senate for twenty-five years.  Despite her father's extensive record of public service,  Nunn must touch on issues important to all Georgians to head off a G.O.P. takeover of the U.S. Senate.

Nunn,  who serves as CEO of The Points Of Light Foundation started by President George H.W. Bush,  should first highlight the state's shaky economy to entice voters outside Atlanta.  Whereas the number of jobs has gradually increased in metro Atlanta,  the same cannot be said for communities in middle and South Georgia, like Macon,  Columbus, or Albany, and smaller towns like Cordele,  Dawson,  and Ft. Gains,  where the unemployment rate has topped fourteen percent since The Great Recession with no end in sight.

Nunn could also vow to fix the state's crumbling infrastructure to woo the urban vote. She could stress the need to expand metro Atlanta's rail and transit system with federal dollars to ease traffic gridlock. Likewise, a commitment to upgrade Georgia's freeway system would boost her standing with such voters.

In addition, she should speak out on Georgia's high school dropout rate of nearly fifty percent,  one of the highest in the country.  She might consider backing initiatives by the president to raise school standards in America. However, she should not spend too much time on this issue since she is not the candidate for governor.

Aside from education,  Nunn should take a pro-administration stand on the Affordable Care Act as part of her U.S. Senate race.  Terry McAuliffe did in his bid to become governor of Virginia, and it paid off.  Sixty percent of Georgians would like to see an expansion of Medicaid as required by Obamacare since thousands lack health insurance.  She must put fear aside and wholeheartedly support the program.

Finally,  Nunn will have to tackle the ongoing immigration issue that has divided the nation.  She must strike a delicate balance between deportation and amnesty to win over conservatives and not offend her democratic base.  If not,  she risks of losing the independent or crossover vote.