Ford Jr. Carries Party's Hopes in Tenn.

Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., takes part in a debate in Nashville in this Feb. 9, 2006 file photo. Private school-polished, charismatic and defiantly conservative on the Iraq war, gay marriage and other issues, Ford is the Democratic hope to win the open Senate seat being vacated by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and make inroads for a party on the outs in the South. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, Files) (Mark Humphrey - AP)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Democrat Harold Ford Jr. loves to tell the story about his unscheduled campaign stop at the Little Rebel Drive-In in Jackson, where Confederate flag bumper stickers are standard in the parking lot.

A row of curious faces turned to stare as the black lawmaker from Memphis entered the restaurant. Ford talked about politics and his campaign for the Senate, and he found the customers warming to him. They even let him affix campaign stickers to their cars and the restaurant's refrigerator.

"The people were very receptive and very supportive," said the 36-year-old congressman. "I've been back there since. It really just speaks to the idea of the campaign of talking to everyone everywhere."

Private school-polished, charismatic and defiantly conservative on the Iraq war, gay marriage and other issues, Ford is the Democratic hope to win the open Senate seat being vacated by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and make inroads for a party on the outs in the South.

But Ford faces a number of obstacles, starting with the obvious: No black man has been elected to the Senate from a Southern state since Reconstruction. For that matter, only five blacks have been elected to the Senate.

"Race is always a factor when people vote," said Michael Grillot, 50, a businessman from Franklin. "Whether you're black or white, it always is a factor."

Tennessee has a smaller black population (about 17 percent) than other Southern states, putting a greater emphasis on Ford's need to appeal to white voters. Even before he formally declared his candidacy, Ford spent plenty of time in eastern Tennessee, an area with few minorities.

"The black population in that part of the state is so small that you can't say it's a problem because no one's really tried," said Christian Grose, an assistant professor of political science at Vanderbilt University.

Tennessee hasn't elected a Democratic senator in 16 years. Western Tennessee and the predominantly black city of Memphis _ Ford's base _ traditionally vote Democratic while the mountains of eastern Tennessee are Republican.

Securing the support of the swing voters in middle Tennessee will be critical, but that region, like the rest of the South, trends to the political right. Democrat Al Gore failed to carry his home state in the 2000 presidential election.

Mary A. Lewis, 60, a Memphis homemaker, said Ford represents a new breed of leadership.

"He's come up in a different time and will do different things," Lewis said. "The older heads need to sit down and let the younger ones take over."