McKinney Must Fend Off Primary Challenge

Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., speaks during a Town Hall Meeting on Education at her district offices in Decatur, Ga., in this June 2, 2006 file photo. McKinney, whose run-in with a U.S. Capitol police officer earlier this year grabbed headlines, is in an even bigger fight back home: A challenger threatens to end her career in next week's Democratic Party runoff. . (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File) (Ric Feld - AP)

ATLANTA -- Rep. Cynthia McKinney, whose run-in with a U.S. Capitol Police officer this year grabbed headlines, is in an even bigger fight back home: A challenger threatens to end her career in next week's Democratic Party runoff.

Advance voting has started in Georgia as the outspoken McKinney faces former DeKalb County commissioner Hank Johnson in Tuesday's contest. Georgia's first black woman in Congress, McKinney drew less than 50 percent of the vote in last month's primary, dimming her prospects for winning a seventh term in the majority black district.

On Thursday, McKinney began ads on seven cable television stations in the Atlanta area, including CNN, BET and Lifetime. The ads, continuing for the five days leading up to the runoff, cost about $10,000.

"I'm not perfect," McKinney said in a separate radio ad. "But I've worked hard, told you the truth and I'm not afraid to speak truth to power."

McKinney once claimed the Bush administration had advance knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. She struck a Capitol Police officer in March when he tried to stop her from entering a House office building unrecognized. A grand jury in Washington declined to indict her in the incident, but she was forced to apologize in the full House.

"She's been the candidate of polarization and divisiveness," Johnson, who also is black, said in a debate with McKinney this week.

McKinney blames Republicans for her political woes. Whether the GOP is responsible is a matter of dispute, but there is no doubt that the Republicans have orchestrated a remarkable takeover in Georgia.

In just four years, Republicans have grabbed Georgia's two Senate seats and the governor's mansion while seizing majority control of both chambers of the state Legislature. The only Democratic gains have come in the state's U.S. House seats, although the GOP still has the edge: an 8-3 Republican advantage in 2002 is now 7-6 GOP. Georgia gained two seats in 2003.

In a sign of the power the GOP wields in Georgia, Republican lawmakers have redrawn congressional maps as they eye more gains. Two former Republican congressmen are challenging two Democratic incumbents in districts more friendly to the GOP.

Nationwide, Democrats are upbeat about their Election Day prospects due to President Bush's low approval ratings, increasing opposition to the Iraq war and discontent with the GOP-controlled Congress.

In Georgia, however, Republicans could tighten their grip on the state. Bush is more popular in the state than in other parts of the country, although his support has dropped even in Georgia.

The GOP targets are conservative Democrats representing largely rural districts that boast Georgia staples _ peanut farms, peach orchards and military bases. Separate from voting, four rural Democrats in Georgia's state Legislature switched parties this year.